Blood in the Honey
by Jirubee
Summary: The veil draped over the lines of friendship and love blur when long time room-mates, Kagome and Inuyasha, become shipwrecked by the questions in their relationship. One simple question submerged them into a leadless dance, leaving them in a back and forth tug-of-war for dominance over their feelings. All is fair in love and war, but the price may not be worth the stakes.
1. Chapter 1

Blood in Honey.

Side by side, long legs draped over the edge of a time-tested brown couch. It sank beneath their weight as wide eyes stared intently at the low-light of the television. It was strange. The letdown of the day was almost crushing in that small room.

Light, from cars crawling by, crept in between the slats in the blinds as Kagome rubbed her eyes at the intrusion. Next to her sat her room-mate, laying his arms haphazardly across the arm of the sofa. His long hair spilled over his face, covering the five-o'clock shadow he'd colored throughout the day.

Quietly, the girl peeked at him out of the blurring corners of her vision. Normally, they would sit and talk about the day, their relationships, their separate lives that were somewhat of a mystery outside of their homestead.

But, tonight of all nights, they were dead silent, save from the banter of the show they were staring through. Tension cut through the living room and gripped at Kagome's throat as she tried to breathe. InuYasha seemed to be just as still, coiling his legs beneath his worn pajamas.

For a moment, she closed her eyes only opening them to see his dark eyes falling upon her. The contact made her skin light on fire, and her stomach tie itself in knots. There had always been something between them, yes. At the same time, the distance was a barrier from letting them ruin what they had constructed.

InuYasha would have bit her with sarcasm and left her aching in the sheets of her bed. Yet, as he watched her through the murky haze, he smirked coyly and returned his attention to the television.

"You've been awfully quiet, tonight." He rasped, brushing a hand through his messy black hair.

The woman pouted, embarrassed that he'd caught her somewhat staring. In all the years they'd lived this way, Kagome had been proud to tuck away her desires and hide them with her lost socks. "I've just, um, got somethings on my mind right now. Would you mind not looking at me like that?"

InuYasha scoffed, holding his head up lazily with his hand. "You mind telling me what is?" He cleared his throat when he saw her eyes dart to her bare feet, finding them fidgeting against the wooden floor.

Kagome sucked in her lip and let out a sigh. Her head shook slightly as she tried to formulate a sentence that didn't seem absolutely stupid. It was harder than she thought it would be, as her nails found their way into her mouth by way of nervous habit.

InuYasha lolled his head back against the couch, sending her a dark glare. The girl's cheeks were stained red, and he couldn't help but find the ruddy color adorable. "Spit it out, Kagome. I know we can sit here all night, but it's kind of annoying when you don't tell me shit." He said poignantly.

The woman huffed and pushed herself to her feet, flailing her arms as her clothes sagged against her slender frame. "No. I'm just going to go to bed and forget I even thought of it, okay?" She snapped, eyes brazen and aware.

As she tried to walk away, InuYasha's calloused hand caught her wrist. She jerked against him as her eyes fell on his and felt the surge of heat singe her pores. "Fine, but you better tell me in the morning." He said sternly, finding the woman rolling her eyes before she sighed an agreement.

"You're so stubborn." InuYasha quipped as he stood tall beside her, gripping her jaw softly. He scrunched his nose at her and placed a ginger kiss a top her crown of silky hair.

She instantly recoiled and scowled at the man. "You don't even have room to talk, InuYasha." Kagome grumbled hoarsely, separating from him to go left as he went right.

As soon as they were both out of sight, they slumped against their doors defeatedly. Kagome took it harder than her best friend, and let a few tears soil her porcelain skin. She looked down at the shirt she was wearing and grimaced at the name of his band scrolled across it. It smelled like him and felt like it had been worn a million times, and probably had.

She hadn't been the only woman to wear it, but she was the first and the only one who could go into his closet, or his laundry basket, or pile on the floor, and take it. God, she had been savage in her suicide attempt, apparently. Living with InuYasha was like dying. She wanted nothing more than to absolve those turbulent feelings that richoeted through her veins.

Glowering, Kagome pushed her computer chair into her neatly organized desk and let her books tumble on the floor. She was blind in the darkness, but soon found her plush bed; the one truly nice thing she owned, and flopped face first into the askew sheets.

Five arduous years had been spent lingering side by side, arm by arm, room by room...

Brushing the cool cotton pillowcase over her face, Kagome nullified the salty ache that burned her sore eyes. Her sister had been so lucky to have known his body and known that warmth. Shuddering, the girl felt disgusted. Kikyo moved on and found someone else, leaving him homeless and _begged_ for Kagome to have a heart and let him move in.

It would have been cruel if she had said no. What she thought was a fleeting crush on that wayward twenty-something, turned out to be this plaguing need. If the love she felt was romantic, she was pretty let down. InuYasha was comfort. Kikyo had let him go for a businessman in Sendai and left her sister to clean up the mess.

Sometimes, Kagome could have killed her older brother for even bringing the man into their home and letting their dewy eyes crawl all over him like a piece of meat. "Ugh," The girl grunted, covering her head with the pillow, screwing her eyes closed to wash away the image she imagined. "I don't like him."

Those long legs of his were covered in soggy-rain soaked jeans, and his long hair clung to his arms like a film. He was smoking a cigarette in the doorway of their childhood home, and his dark eyes were precarious and filled with something unbridaled.

It was that moment that she always remembered. Now, she thought about how he left his cigarette butts in dishes in the sink, instead of the new ashtray she bought him. And, how exactly he found any of his laundry that _she _didn't do, she'd never know.

All of the girlfriends in since Kikyo hadn't done his laundry, cooked him dinner, or popped his back when he whined about sleeping wrong at his job. These visceral feelings began brewing when she spilled her heart and soul to him after her boyfriend had left her. Koga had been the only one she'd ever had, and it was safe to say that it had been too long since.

Maybe, she sighed, attention was what she wanted? Questioning it was suitable, wasn't it? All of these curiousities were sustaining this desire to walk across the room and slap a kiss on that soft looking mouth of his.

Kagome tensed and peered into the gloomy haze of the bedroom. "What the hell am I thinking?" She seethed, kicking the covers off of her legs. Sitting up, her hands wove her hair around her collar as she furrowed her brows.

The heat was getting to her. Swallowing, she got up and flipped on her fan, enjoying the drowning whir of the blades as it kissed her damp skin. Her head leaned against the wall as she stared absently at the pinboard of photos resting on her corkboard.

She wondered what he was doing. Was he already sleeping? Would he mind her sleeping in his bed again? Part of her hated to admit how often she had _sleptwalk_ in there and crowded his bed with her pillow and assortment of things.

Speaking of, her eyes fell on her desk and realized that she had left her phone in his room. A striking jolt hit her heart as she became aware that if he were to open it, there would be plenty of evidence of her interest.

Jumping up, the woman tip-toed across her bedroom floor, parting her door to find a trace of light coloring the blackness with a creamy glow. She licked her lips and braced herself, nerves and hands working against her.

As she found the courage to knock on his door, she froze upon hearing the softest of sounds. Leaning against the door, she pressed her ear against the chilly wood. Her teeth cupped her lip as she heard the obvious gasps and pants coming from his mouth.

The tips of her toes curled in tune with the pang hitting her lower abdomen. Guilt ate at her as she pressed her small hand against the surface, digging deeper into the barrier between them. She wanted to open the door, but held onto her fear as her lids covered her wide eyes.

A few jagged breaths cut through the air when Kagome felt his door give beneath the pressure of her body. She gasp as the door creaked open, sending her falling to her knees. Looking up, cheeks ablaze with fire, she let out a shriek.

InuYasha yelped, jerking his pillow over his lap, mouth agape. "What in the fuck are you doing? Don't you fucking knock?" He rasped, staring at her frazzled body as she tried to stop trembling.

"I-I-I'm sorry, Inu...yasha." Kagome panted, holding her hand to her mouth as she stared at the thrush of clothing laying on his floor. She couldn't make herself look at his lanky and bare body. It may have killed her.

The man palmed his face and rolled his eyes. Slumping over his lap, he adjusted the covers in an attempt to deter the attention from the blood prickling his cheeks. "It's okay. Figured this would have happened years ago." He shrugged his hair off of his shoulder and reached for a pack of cigarettes from his nightstand.

Kagome swallowed hard and slowly began to slow her breathing. She could feel his dark eyes beating down on her and it made her want to crawl within herself, or at least, back out of the door. "...I'm just, um, going to go back to bed. I just needed my phone."

InuYasha smirked at her and chewed at his lip for a moment. "Oh?" His brows perked coyly, hair disheveled and frazzled from the friction. "You mean, the one that is sitting on my bed?"

He wanted her to look at him! A twinge of anger struck her senses as she pouted in response. "You just want me to come over there, don't you?" She narrowed her silvery eyes and barely peeked at him through her lashes.

InuYasha blew a plume of smoke out of the corner of his lips, patting the side of his flannel covered futon. "Come on, Kagome." He shrugged. "We can be adults about this, or we can act like we've never seen someone else's junk."

The girl kept her eyes pinned to the sheets hanging over the side of his bed as she slowly climbed on. Her head turned towards his tall lamp, looming in the corner of his messy room.

InuYasha let out a sigh and picked up the phone from the sheets and held out his hand. Blindly, she reached for the heat that crept into her space and barely grazed his skin. It sent rivulets of urgency into her fingers, making her flinch.

"Kagome," InuYasha breathed, stamping out his cigarette.

The girl blinked and shot a fearful glance over her shoulder. Her mouth parted to speak, but her voice lingered in the center of her throat.

"Why won't you look at me?" He asked, shifting his body beneath the covers as he rested his head upon his hand. "I'm covered up, I'm not going to like, attack you or anything."

Kagome closed her eyes as she sank down on her back. She slowly rolled onto her side and faced him, inspecting the seriousness in his features. His mouth was tight, jaw clenched and eyes heavy with some sort of unspoken understanding.

For a moment, they lay in silence, hesitantly watching the other in the warm light bleeding through the bedroom. The shadows around them buried them beneath an uncertain and enigmatic embrace.

The woman clutched her phone to her chest, feeling it kick with the reverberration of her quivering heart. Was she painfully obvious or what? Being utterly disappointed in herself was an understatement. "I just think it might be weird if I saw my best friend naked." She said.

InuYasha smirked at her. One of his long fingers brushed back the hair that fell in her face, and he shook his head hopelessly. "You're still focusing on me being naked? You must want me more than I thought." He teased, shedding a toothy grin.

Kagome winced and wanted to cover her ears and eyes like a child. "You have to be kidding me." She spat, eyebrows arched in a failed attempt to be nonchalant.

"Sweetheart, you know just as well as I do that it's pretty hard to not want me."

"You are terrible, InuYasha. I don't know how a woman could even look at you for more than a minute and think you're a good desicion." Kagome purred unknowingly.

The man let out a hoarse laugh and tossed his arm haphazardy over the lump beside him. Kagome didn't know whether or not to recoil, so she remained taut beneath his weight. They had laid together in bed many times before, but it was so strange how one look could ruin everything.

"You of all people know I don't bite." InuYasha said, searching for his remote with his foot, which snuck out of the covers.

"You do, too. I've heard stories." Kagome retorted, mouth turning sour.

InuYasha fumbled with the controller between his toes, raising the sheet about his thighs. The girl felt her body flush and she defeatedly sank deeper into his mattress, bars crushing into her knees.

"Yeah," He flipped on the television and let the noise drown out the awkwardness that had made its way into the room. "So, how come you know so much about my love life?" He arched a thick brow at her.

"Do I really need to answer that? Not only do I have my brother, or your best friend as we call him, and..." Kagome hissed between her teeth, "...those sources which I will not name until the holidays when she comes to visit. Which, I really think you should get over. Just because she left you doesn't mean that you can say that she's a bad person."

"Keh," InuYasha scoffed, idly reaching for his lost pajamas. "Whatever you say, Kagome. I personally don't want to spoil my joyous holiday with my family by seeing your sister." He said sharply.

Sometimes, she wondered if he was still hurt by losing her. Yet, as she laid there watching him humbly hold the fabric in his hands, he shot her a peculiar glance. She'd seen it before and felt her pride squelching under his scrutiny.

"You know, I always wondered two people could look so much alike and so different." He mused.

"The wonder of genetics." Kagome flapped an arm and let it hit her legs. "There's nothing too magical there."

"It is when you have something that she doesn't." His thin shoulders shrugged casually as he sat up. The longer strands of his hair smoothed over the curvatures of his torso and hung loosely about his waist.

Kagome furrowed her brows, trying to decipher the message he was trying to convey. "What would that be?"

A subtle smile, a genuine smile, creased his mouth as he looked at her. Slipping on the pajamas beneath the blanket, he adjusted himself and sighed. The answer that he wanted to give her was buried deep within him and pulling it from the source was a feat within itself.

"It's one of those things that you can't put your finger on." InuYasha finally succumbed to the ignorance he sometimes possessed.

Kagome feigned a smile and began drawing patterns on the smooth sheets. "I think it's funny that after I walked in on you, that we're able to completely ignore it and talk about all of these heavy topics." She said smartly, amused at how her embarassment had shriveled.

The man simply lost himself for a moment in the content wave rolling over him. Kagome, this once fragile thing, had become so fulfilling. It had been months since he had seen anyone else, and the root was her.

"You're practically my other half. We don't do much without each other." He said quietly, just barely audible over the hum of the television.

It was difficult to grasp what he had said, as he had many times before. Kagome was unsure of what their relationship was. He was her everything and nothing at the same time, smearing the black and white lines into this graying confusion.

His words were sweet, but his actions spoke volumes of the chasm that laid between them. Fear? Was it the receptor?

Closing her eyes, Kagome sat up in the bed and fought the war raging inside of her chest. It felt like tiny daggers cutting into each artery, tearing away the casing to reveal the her weakest tethers.

InuYasha, to her, was like blood in honey. Something so sweet could be spoiled by the sheer idiocy of his own doing, or hers, for that matter. Something as bittersweet as him was a prize to be held and in the languid motions of her body, she turned to face him.

The man arched his brows at her, rubbing his bare arm anxiously. "Are you alright?" He asked with concern. The quiet between them had grown into a humid smog of tension and anxiety. His skin was riddled with newly formed and flush gooseflesh.

Kagome nodded, biting her lower lip in an attempt to hush the words that begged to tumble off her tongue. "Why did you never give me the chance?" She vomited, spilling out the last residual drop of her feelings.

She dared to look up and see the distraught expression on his face, and paling pallor. He was whiter than the walls and it made her stomach churn. What had she done?

For a moment, InuYasha didn't know what to say. He shifted and shuddered at every idea, or possibility. All he could do was shove a cigarette in his mouth and stare at her with some sort of variable emotion. "Because, I don't see you like that." Rolled off of his tongue before he could even capture it.

Kagome nodded her head and forced back the swelling in her eyes. She could feel the salt kick at her lashes and struggle to squeeze past the barrier. "It's fine. I was just curious." She lied, "I guess I better go back to my room so I don't make this any more awkward. I don't need you moving out on me and all. I like the company." She sucked back a snivel as she got up, hoping that his hands would catch her.

When they didn't, her heart lumped in her throat.

It had been stupid of her to even admit to having such feelings. The rest of the night was going to be paused while she let her brain replay the scene over and over again; the insteads, what ifs, maybes, I should haves...

At least in the morning she could feel the freedom of suffering through work. Being away from home was exactly what she needed. InuYasha, on the other hand, was spellbound and dumbstruck in his bed.

When he heard her door shut, he stared emptily at the creases her body had made in his sheets. Idly, he brushed a hand over the vacant space, still feeling her warmth. It was inevitable that this would happen, he glowered.

Not speaking of their feelings had been what kept them together in the first place. He loved her, any fucking idiot could see that. How else would he have just stopped dating and spent all of his time at home with her?

Graciously, he snuffed his smoke and fell face first on his bed. He'd been thinking of her all night and it made his blood boil. How was he supposed to react when she fell into his room? Jump up and grab her, slam her a against a wall? What options did he really have?

All of these questions pummeled him as he forced his eyes closed. Now that their relationship was hanging in the balance, he had to figure out a way to repair it. He couldn't be with her like she wanted, he rationalized.

Kagome was too dear to him to throw away if something should happen. Dealing with it bitterly seemed like a much better option, he decided.

Besides, she probably didn't realize what she was saying.

Did she?


	2. Offers

**AN: **I'm sorry it took me so long to post this chapter. I've been messing with it for about a week, and I'm still not 100 percent happy with it. Hopefully you guys will enjoy it, though! It was fun to write. Haha.

Thank you to my readers and reviewers!

Sarah Randall; Here you go, honey! There's bunches more! ;D

Lady Bliss; Thank you a million times. I read my reviews over and over and they motivate me so much to continue. Reading that meant so much to me. There are so many wonderful authors on here that it made want to try even harder.

k.a.a-inu; You know me too well. Haha. Things are always interesting and angsty. I don't know why I always make him the way he is, but I fancy him that way. Lol.

Soul Hunt; Thank you! :D

jinulover; It's all going to be human in this piece. Metaphoric demons, yes. ;D And thank you, I hope I can keep the flow going.

ninjamidori; I'M SORRY I KEPT YOU WAITING FOR LIKE A MONTH. XD

Say0mi Saki; Thank you as always, hon. People have told me my writing is too flowery, but if you feel what the characters feel and it takes you along in whimsy, then why not express it that way, you know? Fingers crossed that this chapter turned out alright!

Warm-Amber92; Girl, we've just tipped the angstberg. God, I am so lame.

Enjoy!

Love Jiru

The soft clack of lock turning over made InuYasha stir in his bed. It was still cool with the dreary twilight, which crept through his curtains like a ghost. Rubbing his sore eyes, he winced at the red numerals simultaneously flashing the rumored time.

Kagome must have already left for work, or left early just to get out of their humble home. He mentally cursed himself for waking only to think of the disappointment on her face. It was probably just as well that she didn't wake him up with coffee or a bowl of cereal, as she often did.

InuYasha would have probably just made more an ass out of himself by saying good morning. Sighing, he forced his feet to hit the chilly floor as he went about his business. Stumbling, he grabbed his clothing out of the closet; which she had so graciously hung up for him.

He was a dumbass, he decided, slipping on a pair of snug jeans he refused to part with. Reaching out, he pressed his fingers passed his curtains to guess the temperature outside through the window. It was a habit he had since he was a kid, and most people looked down up the fact that he simply wouldn't just open the damn thing.

As he pulled his white button up on, he became bemused by the fact that Kagome had done it as well. She, instead, pressed her cheek against it. A jaded grin fell on his gruff features as he put on his thin red tie and slid on his gray jacket.

Peering into the mirror, he tucked in the shirt, belted his skinny waist and tilted his reflection to the floor as he grabbed his apartment keys off his desk. It felt like he was going to school to nervously see his crush sitting at her desk, playing with her pen in the corner of her mouth.

It had been a long time since he felt like he was a school boy, but what could you do? He mused as he heard a familiar tune singing from his sheets. Rolling hisi eyes, he knelt down and ended up fighting his messy hair to see where the racket was being transmitted.

After he had demolished the entire bed, he found it laying on the corner of the nightstand where Kagome had left it. Sliding it open, he grabbed his glasses and slid them on to see who had called.

Pursing his lips, he bit the inside of his jaw jealously when he found a series of pleading texts pop up on the screen, as well as a few missed calls. They were all from _him_. "Well, I'm going to make sure she doesn't call you any time soon." He breathed, skimming through each one with some sort of godly prowess.

He never meddled in Kagome's affairs, as she stayed out of his, but he'd be damned if the wolf found his way back to the hen house. The girl would have probably killed him if she knew how many times he'd done this over the years.

Once he was satisfied, he paused at the illuminated screen. Cautiously, he mulled over an idea and began typing out a response to one of the many, "_Please call me, Kagome. I'm in town and I never stopped loving you. I would love to see you and get some lunch." _texts that he happened to be so fond of.

God, Koga was a douchebag.

InuYasha didn't have much room to accuse anyone else, but the fact that Kagome lived with him gave him some sort of right, even though he made it clear that he _didn_'_t_ want her.

No, he was a pathetic man that would date her best friend before he would date _her_. It was actually a juvenile thing to actually do, but he just _couldn_'_t _accept it. After being gradified by pressing the send button, InuYasha skulked out of his room into the living room to still find a chair pulled out and a bowl of his favorite cereal poured.

Looking down at her phone, the man cowered and left his breakfast to congeal in a murky and colorful slush. Perhaps, Miroku would know how to handle this situation. Then again, as InuYasha shut the door, flurrying the jackets on the hook, he winced at the idea of taking advice from him.

Miroku wasn't exactly keyed for longevity.

He was a simple man, with simple desires and whims like a sixteen year old boy. In opposition, Miroku was a twenty-nine year old man that had never found what he was looking for in a person, so he chose to dabble in the paint until he found a color that closely resembled something with flair.

It was kind of depressing, InuYasha thought as he stepped into the creaky brass elevator. He was really no better, after all. If he had never taken him home with him after school that day... He shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance, trying to cope with the lack of nicotine circulating through his organs.

The sun was barely visible on the horizon as he headed out of the musty lobby. Tokyo seemed alive, all the same. It was hard enough to deal with the heaviness of his relationship with Kagome, but the prospect of scurrying across the street was becoming far more tedious.

He just hoped that he could make it through the day without dwelling on it. That was until the phone began crying in his jacket pocket, making his body tense in the cool autumn air. To hell with the rest of the world, he was going to keep his mind as clear as possible.

Yet, no matter how hard he tried, his brain was wired to Kagome.

_**A**_**cross town**, the screams of taxis cut through Kagome's ears as the early morning rush of coffee enthusiasts burst through the doors. Most mornings were _this_ filled with malciously ringing celluars and nonstop gab from the school girls taking about their crushes.

What was saddening was that, as she fumbled with the plastic cups and cardboard cozies, was that she was about to be twenty-four, had a platonic relationship, and worked at the busiest local chain of coffee shops.

The only thing good this morning was the smell. It burned away the aches and sleepless arms that had tauntingly embraced her. She could at least pretend to function like a normal human being, not worrying about the rejection that was stabbing her organs with fury.

Kagome wasn't sure how many wrinkled faces that passed through the door, all dressed in their finiest suits and ties, or exactly how many new paintings the owner sold from their creamy yellow walls. All that mattered was that her heart was sullen and crying for her to man up and pretend that these emotions were simply an offshoot of her loneliness.

If only all of those dark eyes could see past the fictious layered smiles... Her face was probably permenantly stuck that way, anyhow. She was pretty sure that smile-lines were well on their way that she would age gracefully with her apartment full of cats and doilies.

Just before dawn had smeared its daunting light across the windows, a tall, dark headed woman came barely in, ringing the "Welcoming Bell" on the door. Kagome instantly snapped up from her intrusive inspection of the marble counter at her registered post.

She almost said the usual greetings when she noticed it was Sango, all dressed up in her fitted black slacks and white button-down. It didn't take long for the woman to tie on her pink apron, adorned with Candy Candy buttons all down the sides.

Her curious eyes fell on her friend as Kagome eased away from the counter, leaving her last patron content with his steaming hot cup of Columbian Gold. "So, why do you seem so stressed out this morning?" Sango asked gingerly, flicking a piece of straw paper from Kagome's wavy hair.

Kagome scoffed and opened the side door leading around the spacious counter. "Sometimes, I dream of splashing someone in the face with hot coffee. I'd probably go to jail for assault, though. I don't think I'd like that."

Sango raised her thin brows and pulled her hair back high a top her head. "So, I called you about a thousand times." She quipped, grabbing a paper as she slid open the pastry display.

"I don't know where my phone is. I think I left it in InuYasha's room last night." Kagome shrugged, watching her friend searching longingly for the correct strudel.

Sango shot her a taunting look over her shoulder and grinned. "Have you guys finally you know..." She made a perverse gesture with her hand, still holding the unsuspecting sweet in between her pinky and thumb.

Kagome swatted at her hands, peeking around to see if anyone had come to the register. "You need to stop that!" She whispered ruefully. "And, _no_. That's a big fat negatory. I was rejected, so I'm not even going to talk about it anymore."

Sango's dark eyes wided as she hastily chewed her breakfast. "You have to be joking!" The woman bit, eyebrows furrowing in astonishment. "How did that even happen? You two have lived together and _never_ anything?"

The girl in question slumped over with her elbows on the counter top, hiding behind the thickness of her bangs. "No, again. It was never like that. I don't know what changed. I don't know if I miss Koga, or if I really have feelings for InuYasha." She swallowed as the bell rang, reveling a short girl in a uniform.

Sango waved at Kagome as she tried to press on her best facade. "You just keep up the talking." She teased, taking the girl's order and buzzed around the station.

"I think that's inappropriate."

"Keywords, babe." Sango smiled as she drew a smily face on the cup, handing off to its rightful owner.

When she was done, her hand landed on her hip;_ the business position_. Kagome was getting really tired of being stared at and it made her implode. "I honestly don't think this day could get any worse." She rasped, "I don't even want to think about it. I mean, how in hell did I end up with this monstrous beast on my back? Hell, I don't even know how I'm going to act normal."

Sango bit the corner of her lip and let out a puff of air. "Well, has this kind of thing ever happened before? Like, any time at all?"

Kagome's eyes fell half-lidded as she dredged up the furthest of memories. Her body language was pensive, hoping that there would be an answer buried beneath the layers of dust in the back of her mind. "You know, no."

Sango's mouth fell agape, trying to subtly find something to say. When nothing came to mind to make the situation any better, the one thing she could do was bite the bullet and expose a dirty little secret she had been keeping for months. "So, um," She cleared her throat and smiled warmly at the customers exiting the building. "I have a boyfriend _thing_. Maybe, kind of..."

Kagome arched a brow at the woman, dragging her nails along the counter as Sango's eyes wandered elsewhere. "Do I know him?"

"_Well..._" Sango hissed through her teeth. Praying to the heavens for mercy was pretty much out of the question at this point. After all, she had released the proverbial hounds and surely, they would have to hunt her down and maul her until she tattled.

"Oh no." Kagome blanched, sucking a dark sigh as she read the shame on her friend's soft features. "Please, Sango-chan, tell me that you didn't..."

The bloodied marsh that swamped her once porcelain skin was truth enough. Kagome made a serious of faces - none of which _felt _as though they expressed what she was feeling. "I'm going to kill him. You know I specifically _told_ him, and I quote myself: _Miroku, do not date my best friend. She is the only friend I have that you haven't preyed upon and it would be greatly appreciated if you don't spread your debauchery in, or around her vagina._"

Sango rubbed her embarrassment away with her hands and prayed for a customer to walk in. "You took that a little far..." She replied gingerly, reaching over the counter for a bottled smoothie. "You make it sound like he hunted me down and tried to eat me."

Kagome merely rolled her eyes and fell back to her delimma. "I'm not mad at you," She sighed defeatedly. "I feel like I'm going to be alone for the rest of my life with InuYasha and my cat. Which, by the way, is _missing_."

"Yeah, it's hard to be a cat lady without a cat." Sango stared, trying to erase the image from her head. "I wonder if InuYasha killed him and used him to make his eyebrows thicker."

"That's entirely possible." Kagome said, tilting her head in unison as they tried to make sense of his ever growing facial hair. "He has been looking awfully manly lately. I think since he hasn't had a girlfriend that he lets his facial hair mutate. I mean, the other day I came home I could have sworn that the Mona Lisa was in there."

"You are so in love with him." Sango said blankly, sipping on her drink.

"You are the worst best friend. Now I don't feel bad that my brother is going to trample all over your heart."

"You really don't mean that." The woman blanched, "If you can find a work of art in his boyish stubble, I think that that there's one of two things to be said, and I'm saying the nicer of the two."

Kagome merely let out a sigh and walked away. There wasn't anything that she could do if she was right. Any excuse she could have made would have been a travesty. Any shroud of hope she had was shot down like a deer in the middle of the season.

Maybe it just hurt a little more because Sango's heart was tangled in Miroku's sweet smelling web of cologne and hair products. And it seemed that InuYasha and Miroku were as close as glue on paper. It was almost damning to know that it would all come to a roaring boil sooner or later. She just didn't want to watch the pot until it did.

The rest of her day was much the same. A few aches and pains covered with a layer of sweat and chapstick to keep her lips from ripping in half from the fallacious rounds of smiles. Sango gave her the early out, luckily. It would have been difficult to manage the rest of the day listening to how wonderful of a kisser her brother was, and how he definitely knew his way around a woman - _correction; lots of womens - _body.

Soon enough, keys clattered against a ceramic shell dish, in which Kagome had strategically placed near the slamming door. Her bleach stained shoes skidded across the screaming wood. She ached for this day to end. Her confidant's dreadfully hard hitting news basically negated any of her own problems to deal with the stupidity of her friend.

When she chose being a barista, she thought it would have been at least mildly relaxing to be around the pungent aroma of coffee and all of those festive trappings. So far, that had only served to induce the harsher stench of sterility akin to a hospital.

And, as she pulled off her decorated pink smock, Kagome kept her eyes away from InuYasha's door. She knew it was partially open, and heard his television scrambling for volume. The sheer amount of tension seemed to suffocate her beneath its weight. It wasn't supposed to feel like _this_.

Any bad news or anything they had done to injure their friendship had been easily recovered; after the intense explosions of emotions and almost apathetic apologies. The only thing their relationship needed was sex. Aformentioned sex, should she say, would have been completely warranted at the rate that her mind had formulated a million scenarios before her lunch break.

Coming home to this reality was becoming harder to sustain. Albeit, the puncture had been made last night. It wasn't as though it would have miraculously healed itself in the duration of time she'd spent away from home.

Sighing, Kagome pulled her hair down from the bind and let her curls spill over her back. She couldn't think of anything else, no matter how hard she tried. She barely recalled changing out of her work clothes and into her shirt and jeans.

Hell, the phone that caused all of this trouble was still in the bowels of hell, as she'd put it. Kagome would be damned if she willingly went into his room for a while. Why was this affecting her like this? She frowned, staring over her shoulder at the living room laying outside of her cocked door.

It rested like a shining shore, somewhere refreshing to the murky fathoms that she was drowning in. If her stomach hadn't of growled in time with her inspection of the small kitchen, she would have probably stayed put the rest of the night. Then again, whenever she was upset, the kitchen took the brunt of her forcefulness.

Lethargically, the woman relented and shuffled across the room and began to clink and clatter pots and pans. She rather angrily slammed them on the stove top as she flipped on the switch. InuYasha had peeked of his door, still wearing his hakama and an awkward t-shirt from his kendo instruction.

Part of her knew that he was watching her crack eggs into a bowl, whisking them until they were nearly foam. If she kept acting like this, he would have surely packed his bags and left her alone in her own misery.

How could that one sentence have caused this great divide? It felt like blurting out that thought was the equivalent to dropping a nuclear bomb. Kagome let out a sigh as she brushed her bangs away from her eyes, "You can come out of your room, you know?" She said with a soft, belittling sigh that gouged at her pride.

InuYasha cleared his throat, hiding his lit cigarette behind his back. When he wove into the kitchen, he plopped down onto a skidding chair. It was all he could do to focus on anything but the back of her head as she danced from side to side as she cooked.

"How was your day?" The man finally mustered, receiving a faint glance from over the girl's shoulder.

"It was alright." Her shoulder shrugged as she jerked plates down from the black cabinets. "I did find out that my brother was encroaching on the last friend that I had in which he _hadn_'_t _slept with. I guess that Sango finally caved. He really likes her, though."

InuYasha smirked as his fingers rolled the embers of his cigarette onto Kagome's decorative candle. He always had a knack of destroying her things, even if his mind was wandering in absence.

"Good for them. Maybe she'll be the one to tame him." He said as he fingered the melting wax and rolled it over his finger, enjoying the smooth texture. He hadn't seen the sheer disgust laden on Kagome's features, but he could _feel _whatever she wasn't rightfully exposing. "Oh, you got a letter from your mom today. The paper looks fancy."

Kagome snorted and rapped her spoon on the lip of the pot when she was done tasting her concotion. "You know what that means. We are to attend a family get together, or some pre-holiday even because my family has their heads stuck in the past."

InuYasha chewed at his lip in thought, raising his dark eyes to meet hers only briefly. There, written amongst those ashy irises, he saw an answer to a question that had been bothering him through the duration of the day. He wouldn't face her sister alone, but was it fair to her to use her as a decoy for his one insecurities? Straying away from the subject had only served a cold platter of disappointment thus far, and it made him feel inwardly ashamed for remotely indulging in the idea.

For a while longer, they were silent; still aching in the cloud of awkwardness that consumed their two-bedroom apartment. The smell of home thickened as the girl toyed with her utensils, spinning her emotions into the boiling soup pot. As she finished, the food became a display on the table, taking up all of the empty space with steaming spoils of her efforts.

If she did anything for herself, it was expunging her moods into food.

Sitting across from InuYasha, she steadied herself as she served herself some rice and broth over the white mound. "So, what are you thinking about?" She said, watching his less than graceful assault on the chicken.

A lanky arm rolled, "I'm just thinking about what you said last night and how I reacted. No need to beat around the bush, you know?" His voice was raspy, thick as it always was.

The woman dropped her silver and felt her skin prune with color. Her eyes fell on her plate as her appetite suddenly scurried away. "It was stupid and I'm sorry for even bringing it up. Sometimes I just wonder, and I should know my place in your life and within mine that _this_..." She gestured between their bodies and the disfigured candle, "This isn't something that can happen. I knew that a long time ago and you're my best friend, I don't think I could even do that to you."

InuYasha nodded as he sucked his lower lip into his mouth. On the exterior, he showed that he accepted the answer, but there was a war of temptestuous soldiers gearing his body to resolve the matter. How long would she suffer to have him close to her? "Listen," He said softly, body leaning towards the table, "I lied last night."

Kagome's eyes wavered with some sort of disbelief as her stomach became dizzied with nausea. "Wh-what?"

"I lied to you." InuYasha said darkly. Beneath the bright and buzzing kitchen light, they sat with flushed skin and searching eyes. "I do find you attractive. I've wondered myself. I don't think that you should lie about how you feel, or hold onto the idea that there's nothing here. We _chose_ to be like this."

Kagome was quiet.

Her hands shook nervously within her loving palms and she couldn't quite find the weight to steady her tapping foot. She hid behind her long hair, hoping that he wouldn't see what she wanted to hide, but it was obvious. All of that embarrassment, loss of pride, and sense of innocence were belly up to his knife.

"I don't expect you to say anything, but I wanted to tell you that. Ups and downs, it's been you. It's always been you and me. I don't know if either of us could handle what would happen, honestly." InuYasha quipped, stalking his lap for his cigarettes.

"I don't know what to say." Kagome whispered. She was lost, now. How could one sentence complicate years of closeness?

It was just as well, wasn't it? Sighing, the woman shoved her plate across the table and grabbed a cigarette from his pack. He didn't stop her like he had before. She coughed and gagged as the nicotine hit her lungs. InuYasha casually slid her a glass of water and looked down at their mostly untouched dinner.

"Seems like _I_ ruined tonight." He laughed half-heartedly, running a hand over the hakama covering his legs. His knuckles grazed Kagome's shin, and she looked up at him with fearful eyes and stiffened.

Both of them sat still as he InuYasha swallowed, hesitantly brushing his fingers over hers. The girl stared at him intently, holding her breath in as she let the cigarette ashes fell on the table. Blankly, she returned the gesture, feeling the callouses on his palms and the dampness of his nerves pooling in the worried lines.

A touch so simple turned into something violent. Each pass at the other's hand seemed like a fight for dominance and the girl clenched her jaw when she found the nooks and crannies of his knuckles. Just that taste of his soft skin made her body erupt with fervor and electricity.

Then again, reality seemed to have the upper hand and made her feel sick. Staring into those dark eyes of his did a number on her within that moment, and she skidded back in her chair. "You know, you're right. We _did _choose _this_." She stammered, grabbing her plate from the table. "What we need to do is have a mental harvest and dig up all those seeds that have been planted."

InuYasha rolled his eyes at her as his long arms fell over his chest. As he watched her walk to the sink, he smirked to himself, "What the hell, Kagome? Why not?" He shrugged.

The girl dropped the plate upon the floor, shattering it into tiny fragments. Her eyes met his briefly, before she let his words finally sink in. Was this an invitation or a test? She wondered, keeping her flopping mouth as close to closed as possible. "You know what, _no_."

"You were the one that started this whole thing." InuYasha barked, pointing out something that she was painfully aware of.

"I'm just going to pretend that this whole thing didn't happen and go get some dinner that doesn't taste like contempt. I was in a pretty bad mood when I cooked, so it might kill you." Kagome stammered, running her hands through her hair.

"Offers on the table if you change your mind." InuYasha said, tapping his knuckles on the table top, grabbing his plate of food and slid into his bedroom. A moment later, the woman's phone slid across the floor as it rang in repetition. "_And, _get that goddamn thing away from me. I never stops fucking ringing. I think you may be a prostitute, or a drug dealer or something."

Regardless of how deeply she was submerged by her emotions, she took the time to laugh and clutch the phone to her chest before walking into her room. "Why can't things ever be simple?" Kagome sighed as she plopped down at her desk, opening her phone to bad news.


	3. The Boxer Briefing

My playlist for this chapter:

_**Skeleton Key **__by Margot and the Nuclear So & So's _was my song of choice for this chapter.

**AN:**

**I'd like to thank everyone for supporting this story! It's a pleasure to write. **

**MissieMae; Thank you so much! Roommate stories are some my favorites, too. I played with this idea for a while and I really enjoyed how it turned out. I've seen enough and been in best friend/love/like relationships before and know exactly how these characters feel. There's something endearing about the endurance of those relationships that just make for good reading material, too. And, yeah, the InuYasha in my head is pretty hot stuff. Lol! Glorifying him is part of the fun!**

**iaminlovewithcoffee; quickly updated per request! :D**

**Say0mi Saki; bad news isn't always **_**bad**_** news. Kagome's totally going to have some opportunities arise that'll help her out. And thank you very much for your review, hon!**

**k.a.a-inu; Kagome is so stubborn! I do that when I write and read it after I post. Hormones! All of the hormones running rampant are going to totally going to make them explode. Hehe. **

**Warm-Amber92; Yeah, I realized that afterwards that this is probably the most sexually frustrating situation I've ever written. They want to be jerks about it and torture themselves! Thank you! I'm glad that you enjoyed it. Fingers crossed for this chapter!**

**Saria Forest14; I would have probably ran away crying if that happened to me. Then ran back. Lmao.**

All of Kagome's assumptions had been justifiably correct as she skimmed through her phone, finding about thirty missed calls from her mother, Ume. Preceding protocol stated, that before any greetings and tires of goodwill and mirth were to be given, she had to answer the rapid fire line of questions in her mother's arsenal - mostly as to _why _no one had called in weeks, or sent an _RSVP _for the mandatory harvest shindig.

All of that pretty paper wrapped up a whole lot of contempt when the invitation had _finally _been opened after sitting in the mailbox for, what, two weeks?

The conversation with her mother had gone fairly well, until Ume brightly announced that Kikyo, her darling sister, was overjoyed to see her baby sister and _company_. It was everyone's clearly rooted assumption that Kagome had far exceeded expectation and lived in the lap of pseudo luxury with her sibling's cold leftovers.

All of those years of schooling had sure paid off, hadn't they? The girl glowered at that thought as she stared at her closet. The week since that turbulent talk with her mother had passed with a flurry of buzzing sound and static, muting out the awkward prowling that she and her _room-mate _did. It was an awkward dance to begin with and neither of them wanted to take the lead.

Keeping their mouthes shut would have saved the vast majority of all of this trouble, but Kagome had somehow managaed to keep her cool around InuYasha. She completely _ignored_ the phantom touches he gifted her when her guard was down, or how he made cheeky comments about her walking around in a t-shirt and underwear. That was a ritualistic habit that she would give up for no one.

InuYasha had certainly been around long enough to see it a million times. And, he'd known there was absolutely nothing sexually explicit about a pair of Hello Kitty panties, Dragonball Z shirt and a vat of ice cream.

Still, they spent most of their evenings in separate rooms, probably both going mad at the sheer volume of silence radiating through the vacant space. The living room was like a treacherous swamp of comfortable couches and the _big TV. _All of this tension was really cutting into weekly television time.

And, for InuYasha, he wasn't too thrilled to attend the impending party. There wasn't anything that he could really say, or do, to deter his attendance. Ume was like a second mother and she would have pulled him by the ears back to her house. It didn't matter how disasterous the outcome, her word was the overriding code to the core meltdown.

Needless to say, the mention of several text messages and voicemails being absent had never been brought up. It was just as well to have left Koga as a heaping pile proverbial trash on the proverbial curb.

Truth be told, InuYasha wasn't entirely sure as to _why _the woman hadn't said anything. Koga wasn't the type of person to just _stop _persuing her - unless that text message he sent did the trick.

As he rolled the victorious idea of her head, InuYasha merely stood with his arms laced across his chest as he rested against Kagome's doorframe. Now, he merely had to merely watch her dissolve and regress into a fifteen year old girl, too afraid to wear a red dress because of the public connotation and the fear her mother would mark her with a scarlet _A_.

"You know, Kagome..." He cleared his throat, shifting his feet from side to side as he watched her fidget. "You could just suck it up and be an adult about this. I don't want to deal with any of this shit, either." Trying to sound casual was a little bit difficult, but he was getting better at it. Besides, she finally sent him the only remotely engaging look she'd given him all week.

Sighing, the girl lolled her head back. "I'm just not sure if Jii-chan would keel over dead if I didn't dress properly. I haven't worn any kimono in months. He would have had my head for being so inappropriate. I think he's still mad that Miro and I didn't want to take over the shrine." Kagome glowered, finding the nervous sweat on her brow to be utterly revolting. And, the fact that _he _was watching didn't make any of this better.

It would have been so much more simple if Sango had just came over, but no... Miroku had her locked away in his tower, doing God knows what to her.

"I don't think it will matter, seriously." The man quipped, perking his brows childishly beneath his bangs. "The only thing I'd worry about is the _shark infestation_. How long do you think it'll take it becomes the most awkward holiday we've ever had?"

The girl clattered in her closet, keeping her hair as a barrier etween his roaming eyes and the flush it had burned onto her pallid flesh. "As soon as the door opens, I'm prepared for about ten different scenarios to arise, and they all involve me cleaning up vomit, or drowning myself in the really nice bathtub in mom's room."

Nudity wasn't something that needed to be brought up, and somehow she managed to always say the right words to make her brain corrolate fashionable imagery; most of which, she tried to expunged. _Excellent job, Kagome... Excellent job. _

She huffed, inwardly.

A faint grin kissed InuYasha's lips as he slithered into the hear of her room, somewhat stalking a territory he knew like the back of his hand. "Better safe than sorry. I figure I'll be persuading Miroku to murder me, or at least denounce our friendship." The man furrowed his brows and paused, tilting his head slightly. "We are the most socially awkward people. Huh?"

The woman leaned back, letting her exasperation vividly protrude along her features. "It's pretty pathetic of us to plan suicides just because we don't like to be around people." She said with a bit of a sigh, still boring holes into her lackluster wardrobe. "I've planned that we'll be there at least an hour late. I'm blaming it on overcrowding on the train, and we will be present for at least two hours, no more than five. I will become far too exhausted to stay, and will have to come home to prepare for work."

"What about me?" InuYasha said, leaning his lanky body against her back absently. He pulled his glasses down and began sifting through the hangers filled with dresses and pinned skirts.

Kagome let out a small laugh, and pointed to the far corner of the closet for him to hand her a kimono. "I'll be far too drunk to walk and you will have to escort me home. I think it's a pretty fool proof plan." She said bemused.

They had almost forgotten about their closeness, and all of the stresses of the past week when InuYasha smirked and pulled out the plastic covered kimono. "I'm not opposed to that. I don't know how I feel about hitting it when you'll be vomiting in my trash can, but it's totally doable." He shrugged, finding her expression wrought with embarrassment.

"God, I hate you sometimes." Kagome seethed, dipping under his arm, savoring the sweetness of escaping the sweetness of his smell. "And besides," She said, keeping her eyes glued to her bed as she shucked down a handfull of dresses. "Who cleans your trash can?"

The man crossed his arms and towered over her, placing a soft kiss upon her cheek. "You do."

The girl felt the numbness in her toes spread to abdomen, recurrent every time she tried to move her cheek. She was silent, still. Waiting for him to move away from her felt like a century of alertness, taking down her formiddable bastille walls.

It wasn't long before he ruffled her hair and left her to inspect her clothing. But, before he left, he reached into her stack and pulled out a wild card from the middle. Tossing it carelessly on top, he pushed a cigarette into his mouth. "I like that one, you always look nice in it."

The mottled rashing that cut across her skin made her feel itchy, restless as she watched him skulk out of the room. Her fingers palmed her cheek, feeling the oozing warm tingling that remained in his absence. He knew all of the buttons to press. He didn't have to try to make her feel like she was a sinking ship with no hope of salvage.

Looking down at the mess on her bed, she flinched when she saw the dress he picked. Her hand smoothed over the soft fabric and she let out a damning sigh. "Bastard." She muttered as she picked up the whimsical _red _dress.

Running her hands through her hair, she held them against her shoulders. She stared emptily at the parted door, barely seeing him shuffle about the living room as he ate a sandwich. God, she closed her eyes, she had it _bad_.

Getting out the apartment seemed like the best idea. Some new shoes would help, she sighed somewhat victoriously. Grabbing her purse from her desk, she pressed the lines out of her shirt and grabbed a thin black pullover. She hastily pulled her hair into a messy ponytail. There was no way that she wasn't going to be frazzled.

InuYasha had barely noticed her stealthily sneaking out, until she opened the door. That damned lining was a tattle tale.

Wiping his hands off on his jeans, which she utterly abhored, the man frowned. "Where you going, Kagome?"

The girl clenched her hand around the handle of the door, staring into the hallway that lead to the resolution to her horrendous hormonal overload. "I'm going to buy some shoes. Is this a problem? Do you need anything, _want _anything?"

He mulled it over and grabbed his coat off the rack. "Actually, yeah." Was the response she received. It wasn't exactly the list she had been pining for, but she would have to make do with the company.

Honestly, outside of their living space, they could functioning somewhat normally. Being out in the open meant focusing on the life bustling around them, not the quiet inlay of inner mechanics controlling every aspect of their lives on the inside.

Somewhere between the elevator ride and the cool air that bleached their skin with it's soft breath, they had distanced themselves from their troubles. InuYasha, in particular, was not a fan of the chilly fall day and grimaced at the sound of leaves crinkling beneath his feet.

His hands wove into his pockets, fumbling around with the smooth metal covering on his lighter as Kagome's phone blared its sickeningly sweet tune. At first he tensed until he heard Sango's voice blaring through the speaker. He endured about twenty minutes and four cigarettes worth of planning.

Apparently, it takes a woman about thirty minutes to decide on _which _color goes with a red dress. Whether Kagome had been trying to appease him, the fact that she was oblivious to the fact he was smirking at her, made him feel like he had the upper hand.

Maybe this little ordeal would be fun, at the very least. Teasing her had always been adventurous and amusing, so why not enjoy this affair while it lasted? Part of him wondered if her feelings were truly warranted, making him question his own. He did love her, he just wasn't sure how far those feelings ran.

Sure, when Koga came bustling through, he was jealous. It was obvious. On occasion, painfully so. Yet, as he heard her slip her phone into her purse and blow a hot breath into the crisp air, he felt his cheeks flutter with heat of their own.

He was fairly lost in thought when he felt the pinprick of her nails tapping his hand as they ended up admist the high rises and flashing lights that crawled in Shinjuku. "Hey, InuYasha what did you need anyway?" Kagome asked lightly, keeping her eyes level with other pedestrians and their plethora of shopping bags.

The man shook his head, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Um, I need to get some socks and underwear." He said with a shrug.

Kagome palmed her face, brushing back her bangs. "You have got to be kidding me." She sighed, blaming her rosy cheeks of the frosty wind. The sidewalk became far more interesting as she stepped off the damp crosswalk. "You know I'm not helping you buy your designer wares, so you can call me if you need me."

"I hardly think that the dollar store has anything that fancy, Kagome." InuYasha bit, struggling to keep up with her. He watched her skinny jeans crease with each step she took away from him, and he scowled. "Seriously, Kagome, since when have I ever bought my own underwear since we've lived together." He whined.

The girl whipped around, purse slinging around her body. "_InuYasha_." She bit through her unease. "I'm not your girlfriend, or your mother."

"_Kagome_." He challenged, crossing his arms over his chest while bystanders watched out of the corners of their eyes.

After a moment, Kagome narrowed her gray eyes and shook her head. "_Fine. _Call me when you're done stuffing your face or whatever." She pouted, feeling his hand idly pop against her bottom as he stuffed it back into his long jacket.

The man shot her a knowing glance through his whisping hair as he scampered off down the busy street. He knew what he was doing and it was overwhelmingly trite. Kagome couldn't believe that she did his bidding wherever they went together. Maybe _this _was why everyone thought what they did.

In any event, the girl took care of her own shopping excursions, bottoming out her own wallet for the sake of glamourizing herself for her family. Her mother would probably end up killing her on sight if she knew she didn't do anything with that Physics degree.

She'd spent most of her time staring at push up bras and fitted pin-up dresses, seeing as how she had filled out a little since the last time she'd visited home. Being justified in a pencil dress seemed more appropriate than explaining she liked cake and vendor burritos.

When it came to buying the nondesciminating underwear, Kagome's cheeks were alive with a forest of color to match the offerings cast aside by the trees. The tiny shop was burning and bright beneath the lights, bleaching her skin and making her feel as though she were spot-lighted.

Each package cried beneath the plastic as she finally plucked his size and shoved the boxers in a hand basket as she checked out. She would end up killing him before the party. She knew it. Yet, as she breathed a sigh of relief into the freshness of the evening, as all of the neons began to flicker beneath the blackening sky, she relished the cool hands caressing her skin.

The street was far less congested, but as she reached for her buzzing phone, she collided with a sturdy body. All of her bags emptied upon the slick sidewalk and she panicked, lowering her head shamefully as she apologized profusely.

Hesitantly, she winced, peering through her bangs to see a young man ruffling the back of his short hair. "I was in a hurry, I should have watched where I was going." He said, kneeling down beside her to help her replace her lost belongings. "I hope that you're alright and nothing was damaged." He said through his teeth, trying to keep from staring at her flushed face.

"It's alright. I was trying to answer my phone and wasn't paying attention, either." Kagome smiled, flicking her hair to the side. She couldn't help but giggle at the bewilderment on the boy's face. He looked young, terrified that he was probably on his own for the first time. "Thank you for helping me. I probably would have never found all of this."

"Oh? It's nothing." He said, biting his lip as he fumbled with the ties on his hooded jacket and smiled a little. "Well, I, uh, best be on my way-er?" The man bowed slightly, hoping that this pretty thing would give him her name.

Kagome smirked and adjusted the bags on her shoulder. "Kagome." She responded softly.

"_Kagome_. That suits you. You don't see someone as pretty as you, or have a name that matches." The man laughed. "My name's Hojo."

The girl felt pretty smug when her phone rang several times, and each time she rolled her eyes. InuYasha would find her eventually. Besides, this kid seemed really sweet and even offered to take her to dinner to make up for all the trouble. The decent part of her said _yes_ to be polite, whereas the spiteful part was more concerned with erasing these feelings for InuYasha.

An escape would be nice, and this dark eyed, dimpled wonderboy seemed pretty sweet. Kagome was about done giving her his number when she heard _it_. "Fuck, Kagome, do you know how hard it was to find your ass?" InuYasha berated, holding a brown sack of dumplings he'd bought for her - and the bottle of peach schnapps she liked. "You have fingers to answer your phone."

Kagome's color drained as she looked over her shoulder to see InuYasha stumbling towards her. He hadn't noticed Hojo, and part of her didn't care. "Oh, sorry. I was talking to my new friend." She grinned, seeing the gruff man's expression wind into a calculated glare. His mouth pursed and eye brows became arched in curiosity as he handed her the bag.

"Well, did you get my underwear?" He ask blankly before pressing a cigarette in his mouth.

Hojo looked between them and pointed a confused finger at no one in particular. "So, is he your boyfriend?"

Kagome waved her hand in front of her face, "No. He's my room-mate." _Dead. Dead. Dead. Murder. _

"_Keh_." InuYasha quipped, grabbing her hand. "And, that being said, we've gotta go home." The girl stiffened beneat his grasp, finding her stomach tying itself into knots at the contact.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow, Kagome." Hojo beamed, holding his phone to chest in his whimsy.

The girl nodded and waved joyously as InuYasha dragged her along the street. Neither of them spoke for the duration of the trip - just a bunch of sighs and grunts that weren't all too attractive. When they finally made it back home, Kagome threw his boxers at him with a scowl. She was starting to think it was just the loneliness that made him seem so damn attractive.

"I bought you dumplings, you ass." InuYasha smirked, sitting his pack on stained counter.

Kagome plopped face down on the couch and let out a heaving sigh. "Why are you doing this to me?"

"You're doing it to yourself."

"No, I'm not. It's all you." She retorted, raising up as her hair fell across her face. The way she looked at him...

"See," InuYasha said, leaning over the arm of the couch as she turned over onto her back. His hair fell around his face like a curtain while he watched her intently. "You went and got yourself a date. I bet he's a catch. Maybe you'll move out if things get serious so I can have double the room."

Kagome leaned upon her elbows, knitting her eyebrows. "Are you serious?" How incredulous was he? _Really?_

"Are you?" InuYasha blanched, sweetly grinning at her knowingly. It worked every time she'd tried to date. It was like shooting the fucking ground.

For a moment, Kagome chewed at her lip and wriggled against the sofa. "I hope he's super rich and has a pool. Or, at least his parents."

"Then I could come over and hang out with your spoiled kids and play Soul Calibur on a fancy ass TV." He mocked her, finding the tint on her cheeks adorable as he always did.

Sighing, Kagome brushed a hand through her messy hair. "I just said I'd go out with him because he insisted and he seemed really nice, so I didn't want to be _that _much of a bitch."

Grabbing her toes, InuYasha watched her squirm beneath his grasp and chuckled. "You know, just do what makes you happy, _Ka-go-me_." He breathed, letting go of her as she slithered into a sitting position. Her head was as cloudy as the night itself and it made her tired just thinking about how simple things could have been.

Yet, in her ire, she reached a hand towards InuYasha as he polished the lens on his glasses. "Come sit with me and we'll watch something. I'm too tired to move."

"You want me to carry you to your room?" He asked idly. It wasn't like he hadn't done it countless times before.

Kagome rubbed her eyes, leaving mascara smeared across her cheek. InuYasha eyed her yawn and pucker her lips in a half-hearted frown. He couldn't stand when things bothered her, and now, he knew it was conflicting with everything he believed in to just be so distant. This little waiting game had gone on years, and if it happened to be a little crush on her part, then he would wait until that passed over, too.

With a sigh, he pulled off his wrinkled t-shirt and tossed it haphazardly on the floor as he retreated to his room. When he returned, the girl was thumbing through channels as he flipped off the light. She barely glanced at him when she felt his body weight down the cushion her feet rested on, and he propped them on his lap as carelessly laid a blanket over them.

Closing her eyes, Kagome nuzzled into the crook in her arm, hoping he wouldn't see how flustered this had made her. This is what they always had done. If they wanted any semblance of what they had before, they had to at least force themselves through the motions, didn't they?

It was satisfying down to her toes to be so close to him, letting the day roll off her sleeves and into the cumbersome darkness that enveloped her. She ached for him, his closeness, his hands to wind in her hair. Clenching her jaw, she imagined what those ghostly breaths would sound like whispering her broken name into her ears.

It was sacchariferous.

Every roll of his fingers over her ankles - just those imperceptible accidents - made her abdomen quell with more warmth than the sun had spread upon the day. It made her knees quiver as she thawed from the cool in the apartment.

InuYasha rolled his eyes over her small form, thanking the darkness for the shelter. She didn't see the longing in his dark eyes, or the way his mouth was pinned beneath his teeth. It was as if they molted, allowing, _almost accepting_, the new prickling emotions inching from the deadend pores.

Kagome was about dead when he heard the softest beating of her vibrating phone, which was lost amidst the sea of bags on the table. Looking down, he flinched as she jerked beneath him. Smoothly, he shimmied as far back as he could, arching as he extended a hand behind his head. He was so close when it stopped ringing and he finally slid out from underneath the drooling girl and staggered to the table.

Fishing out the device, he slid it open and sighed. "So, you're back at it are you?" InuYasha rasped at the damn thing. The night had ended up being fairly calm and then this prick had to start his shit.

Patting his jeans, he felt his pack of cigarettes and slipped outside onto their seldom used balcony. The autumn air soothed his flushed bare skin and he propped against the railing as Tokyo beamed like a neon garden.

As he swallowed his nerve and returned the call, he felt that swell of jealously curtling his blood. Even the nicotine couldn't satiated the itch that crawled in his bones. As the ringing resounded in his ear, he knew that _he _was the only man he had ever felt threatened by. No one was taking Kagome away, and that was for damn sure. That Hojo kid didn't stand more than a week before he was cast to the wayside, as brutally honest as that was.

Yet, the endless stream of purring rings ended leaving his stomach hollow as a familiar voice prickled with contentment as he answered the phone. "Oh, Kagome...I've been hoping you'd answer!" He exclaimed.

Disappointment rang out in his voice when _that _raspy voice responded. "Oi, you dick, why do you keep bothering her?"

"Christ," Koga sighed into the speaker. "Formalities really go a long way, don't they?"

"Listen to me," InuYasha said darkly, brushing a hand through his long hair as though it was the only thing keeping him from sending the phone flying into the street below. "I don't give a fuck if you think that you're trying to make ammends, or rekindle whatever flame you had with her. _You _need to leave her alone. It's been, what? Two years since you saw her and you think you can just blow through here and make everything better after that?"

"I think you've got this whole story all wrong, InuYasha." Koga sighed grumpily into the phone, trying his best to keep his cool. If there had ever been _anyone _that pissed it him off that badly, it was InuYasha. "You can pretend to be the big brother, the knight in shining armor, but you're just a bystander and you really hold her back. Shit, you were the whole reason that our relationship went to shit, you know you that you jackass?"

InuYasha scoffed and rolled his eyes. "I'm not getting blamed for the fact that she _did _and probably still _does _love you - for some ungodly reason. Jumping ship doesn't really show that you're man, Koga. I just want you to leave her alone and let her move on with her own life and let this shit settle. That's not asking too much. Actually," The man cleared his throat, readying another cigarette. "You just need to back the fuck off."

Koga snorted, "You've got to be kidding me. There's no way in hell I'm listening to you, especially when you've taken it upon yourself to act like a big shot and defend every little thing that woman does. She's a mess to be with and you fucking know better than anyone, I'm sure."

"Where in hell do you get off talking about her like that?" InuYasha hissed. He was relatively calm and beneath the swelling and condensating sweat on his chest.

"I'm simply going to say that you have no right to her. You couldn't have her when you wanted her and you did what? Took her sister and ran until that was about as good as play money." Koga responded evenly. He was being realistic in his mind, and it just wasn't sinking through InuYasha's thick ass skull.

For a moment, InuYasha was silent. That was something that hit a nerve. Koga was a friend until he weaseled his way into Kagome's life and stole her. Glowering, the man sighed. "Fine. I suppose you've got the upper hand in this, like you do everything else. So, now that there's an open wound, I guess you have no use but to hang up and have a victory beer."

"No. I just think I'll be seeing you in a few days." Koga said blankly. "It's too late to bother reasoning with you. All I can say, is that you had your chance and chances after that, and probably now. You've never been one for relationships that are actually worth a damn, and I'm not watching you ruin anything else in her life."

InuYasha bit his tongue as he gripped to the railing, turning his knuckles white. "Fuck off." He sighed, hanging up on the bastard. A sour taste filled his mouth as he looked back through the parted door to find Kagome standing with her arms wrapped around her waist.

Her eyes were barely parted, but the expression was seared into his memory. He was startled by her silence. It was heavy and empty as she rubbed her eyes like a child. "InuYasha..." That small voice trembled, trying to comprehend if she was imagining the world around her.

Holding his breath until his lungs could no longer bear it, the man exhaled a white plume into the cold night. "What is it, Kagome?"

The wary girl's mouth fell into a pout. She was staring vacantly through him when she murmured something inaudible. It dawned on him that she was sleepwalking, and he inwardly thanked whatever god was listening. The last thing he needed was her crying over his meddling.

"You should go inside, it's cold." The man said, feeling the wind lick his hair. A shudder ran down his spine as Kagome stumbled into the door, nearly falling over. Naturally, he walked over to her and picked her small body up and carried her inside. He closed the door with his foot and held her close as she wriggled.

A welcomed warmth slithered through his body, curling his toes with delight as he peered down at her round cheeks and wrinkling nose. Every word that Koga had said lingered with him as he stood at the juncture of their rooms.

Her room seemed sterile, lifeless as the city light crept in through her window. His seemed vibrant in comparision and relented to habit and his overall comfort. He needed to be close to her, and that awareness made him melt.

Kagome's fingers climbed up his neck, loosely holding on as he closed his eyes and walked quietly into his room.

All of those times she thought she'd slept walked into his bedroom had been an excuse for his own want. Every time he'd pick her up and dance with her until they were tangled in his sheets.

At least, the story she was going to be told was going to be a good one, he mused as he slid out of his pants and crawled into bed. For a moment, he lay facing her, brushing her soft hair from her eyes. Even in the low light, she was beautiful.

It was too much. That throbbing in his chest, his veins, his stomach made him draw closer. Even the callouses on his thumbs could _feel_ her supple skin. Closing his eyes, he leaned in until his nose brushed against hers and his hand cupped her cheek.

He begged for this.

Parting his dark eyes, he watched her swollen mouth as she breathed. He had to have her. This ache was unbearable. His jealously beseiged his judgment and relevance as he gingerly bridged the gape between them.

Trembling, he felt the way her lip clung to his as he pulled away; electrified by the sheer volume of his actions. Disbelief was appropriate, but he wouldn't accept it - _couldn't._

Breathing deeply, the man could no longer hold his resolve.

And as his mouth tumbled down upon hers, he felt her hands reach for his, pulling his arms over her back. Instantly, he flinched at the resolute crescendo of his heart's thunderous beat. His eyes widend when he pulled away, finding the girl's gray eyes lazily staring at him. The emotion was wanton as she nuzzled into the sheets.

He couldn't think of anything. There was absolutely nothing left in the back of his mind to make him speak. His gaze was locked with hers when she finally spoke up. Hoarsely, Kagome wiped away his bangs and brushed her hands over his stubble, feeling her legs tighen with the needy ache in that rested in between.

"Come here." Kagome whispered, lethargically. "If you want a kiss, you've got to meet me half way."

AN: So, how was it everyone? I hope that you guys enjoyed it. I'm so excited to write the next chapter. Thank you for reading!


	4. Tidal Wave

**AN: **Thanks for everyone that reviewed my one shots and read them! I posted from my phone because Evernote is _awesome_. I still had to deal with autocorrect (all of the errors I missed in the initial edit) And, FF has copy pasta! So, you'll probably be getting bunches of lemons and drabbles. Haha. But, I wanted to say that this chapter is a little shorter than normal. I apologize. I haven't had a chance to really work on my serials, as I share a laptop with the honey.

_Never the less_, I really hope that you guys enjoy this particular chapter. Let me know how you guys felt. It really does help when I'm down to read the reviews you've left. It's awesome how something like that can totally change your perspective on a bad day.

k.a.a-inu; Thank you lovely! He totally did. And you got a speedy update, too! Haha.

CityofFallenAshes; InuYasha is the personification of jealously. Lol.

xsachi; Thank you. I feel bad for always making Koga seem like the baddy, but I do love him _a lot_. He and Kikyo are going to be in the next chapter. There's going to be a lot of awkward goodness. Haha.

iaminlovewithcoffee; Thank you so much!

MissieMae; InuYasha in glasses in delicious. Lol. I think I write out my own frustrations and take it out on the characters sometimes. I do hope you enjoy this chapter. It's deliciously angsty. Haha. _And _we're gonna find out some things and meet some new people soon! And I appreciate that so much. I was actually bawling and I checked my email and I saw that I had a review and it was yours. I was so excited I forgot what I was upset about. :3

And, my story took me 700 miles away on a rainy New Year's Eve. I'm still here if that tells you anything. Kuku. ;)

Warm-Amber92; I totally had to cut some slack. I was getting pissed that they hadn't! Lmao. I think you'll like this chapter, just a little. ;D

Happy reading everyone!

Thank you all again!

A sharp pang gripped InuYasha's throat as a look of horror manifested on his face. Was this the exalted moment? Trying to be suave, in those precious few seconds that Kagome flicked her fingers over the back of his neck, he was almost cataonic. "Uh-uh...I..." He stammered, a cluster of red vibrantly curled across his cheeks making the girl's lips quirk.

It dawned on him that she may not have been fully aware of her actions, and his first instinct was to dissimulate his interest. Her pulse was throbbing in time with his in all of the places they were connected. Pressing his lips into a tight line, he closed his eyes and leaned forward.

There was no opportunity to waste this, regardless of the reprocussions. The girl sharply inhaled as she felt his tongue probe the slick walls of her mouth. He was callow in his attempts to be debonair and left her with a seal of resignation. That one kiss revolted and fought a war of its own as Kagome jerked her hands tighter in his hair.

It was the first time, since had lost his virginity, that he had ever felt so reluctant in his wants and felt his innocence being devoured by the voracity of her unrelenting vigor. InuYasha could barely feel his lungs. Kagome was oblivious, she had to be. There was no way that she would have been so forward.

His eyes were lucid, hazy with the rupturing flood blood rushing to every corner of his body. There was nothing tender, or chaste, about the action as he felt the girl's weight shift. Genuine fear wrapped its hands around his neck when he felt her body settle on top of his. Her slender legs hung on either side of his waist, and her hands pressed into his shoulders.

If he could have sank any deeper in between the futon bars, he would have wholeheartedly. He was a man, not a boy that had no experience. Yet, Kagome bore holes into him with those nacreaous eyes. The faint light from the street lamps ignited a small fire in them, dancing as the trees swayed; toying with the direction the illumination came from.

"Is the offer still good?" Kagome panted above him. Her chest rose and fell jaggedly, as her thighs trembled at the contact. She could barely feel anything else. Languorous movement or not, it was all she could do to not completely unravel.

InuYasha parted his mouth to speak. Since when did he become so foreign in his own skin? This wasn't like him at all. He was in control. _Always._ A series of jagged breaths quivered from his lips as he nodded in silence.

Kagome leaned down, hovering centimeters above his mouth. Her hair fell in silken strands around them. "_InuYasha_..." She breathed, tracing her lips softly over his. It made her heart ache at the nervous whine that erupted from him.

Slowly, his trembling fingers found the courage to move along her arm. This was finally going to happen, he rejoiced internally. The lecher in him cried to flip her over and take her, just like all the times he had imagined in his head. Yet, as he mustered up the courage, the girl's heavy head thudded against his shoulder with a fleshy slap.

Furrowing his brows, he manuvered to where he could grasp her shoulder and shook her lightly, "Kagome? Are you alright?" He swallowed, astonished when her nose bore the softest of snores.

Lolling his head back, he brushed his hand over his face and exhaled. "You have got to be kidding me."

To make matters worse, he could feel her dampness through the sheets, warming his abdomen. Slowly, he wrapped an arm around her and buried his nose into the crook of her shoulder, sweetly absorbing the gentle smell of her soap and the stale hints of his cigarette smoke in his hair.

"I have to get out of here." He breathed, finding his upset to be a little more intense than he had originally thought. As he tried to move her dead weight off of him, Kagome stirred, rolling off of him on her own.

"What's going on?" She murmured, blinking her eyes as she tried to regain consciousness.

InuYasha held his breath, _waiting_. She was going to explode. He saw it clearly, even in the darkness that her mouth was trembling and her hands searched her body to make sure she was still wearing clothes.

Her eyes were as wide as they were possibly going to get in her half-alert state.

"You were sleep walking." The man sighed, letting his arm fall slack against the sheets.

Sliding to her knees, Kagome narrowed her eyes at him. The trepidation was oozing. "You tried to take advantage of me, didn't you?" She asked bitterly.

_That was the last straw._

Shooting up out of the bed, InuYasha's hands gripped to the sides of his head, pulling his hair as far back as he could muster without screaming. How in hell did that even cross her mind? He fumed internally. The look on her face was wrought with drool and matted hair. Why would that even have been a fleeting worry? She had no fucking clue. This was so torturous that he couldn't fathom what it would be like to be rid of her.

"You need to get the fuck out." He seethed, breathing in jagged huffs through his nose.

The girl challenged his gaze and clumsily tried to get out of his bed. "It's not my fault that you've been trying to get me to give into you. You offer up all of this bullshit, and for what, InuYasha?" She shook her bed-ridden hair as she staggered out of the room, back into the santictity of the living room.

Closing her eyes, she pressed her knuckles into her lids until her vision turned white. Partially, her head throbbed with concern over the words that exploded from her mouth. She was never that hateful. It wasn't like her to just lash out at him.

And sure enough, he was bogged down by the accumulation of tension and dealing with the most pompous man on earth. Clenching his jaw, InuYasha grabbed the lamp off of his night stand, repremanding himself for even having half a heart, as it tore a hole in the wall.

His chest was wound so tightly he thought his lungs would tear through his skin. Biting his lip, he walked into the living room, digging his nails into the palms of his hands. Kagome glanced at him over her shoulder, waiting for him to leave so she could resolve her own feelings on the subjectt in silence; or as much as the infomercial would allow.

As fate would have it, Kagome's mouth opened and spewed salt into the already swollen, raw wound. "If you want me to get the fuck out, then you shouldn't come crawling in here like a dog."

InuYasha slammed his fist down on the table, knocking over all of the bags and glasswares onto the floor. His hand held his forehead as smiled in utter awe. She had to be the most incredulous person on the face of the earth.

"Listen to me." He said for the second time, with the same pissy tone. "You started this whole thing. I don't need this from you. I already have had enough of dealing with your ex-boyfriend to last a lifetime and I don't think that you have any idea what I do for you."

The girl crawled over the cushions, gripping to the back of the couch. "You've been talking to Koga?" She hissed.

"What difference does it make?" InuYasha asked, nearly breaking the cigarette he lit.

"It means that you think I'm going to go crawling back to him just because he thinks he has some sort of hold on my heart. You know he lost that when he told me that I had to choose between going, God knows where, with him, or..." The fervor in her voice tapered off as she realized what she was saying. She licked her lips, watching his expression deepen in curiousity.

"Or what, Kagome?" He swallowed, wrapping his arms to the elbows.

"It's nothing." She smiled, feeling brackish moisture welling along her lashes.

"Nothing is why were in this situation."

"I said, it was _nothing_." She spat.

InuYasha inhaled deeply, zoning out for a moment to collect himself; as not to throw her out the goddamn window. "It's because you wouldn't leave me."

A sharp twinge shot through the woman's chest. The saliva in her mouth receeded like the tide as she brought her eyes to his. There was nothing she could do now. They were caught in the middle of a storm that had no sign of clearing up without it pouring down.

"Kagome, just tell me what you want from me!" InuYasha finally yelled, his voice breaking as he kicked the chair from the table. Their neighbor downstairs pounded the against the ceiling, resounding with equally thunderous stomps.

Kagome sucked in her lower lip, running her hands into her hair as she brought herself to her feet. All of the nerve in her body unwound as she drew closer to him. Her eyes penetrated him, ailing the already corrosive symptoms. "_I fucking love you._" She screamed, balling her fists against her sides in resignation. "Are you happy that I've finally told you that you've been the only person that I've ever wanted? I have _never _wanted anything but _you_. Loving you is nothing but torture. _Living with you_ _is nothing but torture._"

The wake of the moment was still, numbing to both parties as the adrenaline waned in the throes of its reign. InuYasha let the remnants of his cigarette dry out and fall on the floor as he merely stared at her. She could hear his breathing as he looked down upon her as though she were beneath him.

Kagome was about to run to her room and lock herself away. She couldn't stand to see him dissolving before her. Everything she had held in was on the table and having no response only made her unease amplify.

InuYasha studied her thoroughly. He couldn't say anything. It wouldn't force itself out. It was clinging to his throat like a sticky film. Everything he had hoped for was hanging in that one moment; _that one __**relieving **__moment._

"_This _is _why_ I never said anything." Kagome sniveled, holding back unshed tears. The ones that had already streaked over the contours of her face washed away any trace of clarity from her skin. She was destroyed.

"Shut the hell up, Kagome." InuYasha said, kneeling down in a flurry of black hair and porous emotion. The girl couldn't think, let alone be prepared for the feel of his mouth covering hers. She wanted to push him away, for fear of him merely satisfying her desires to make her stay a little longer.

But, her mouth parted, inviting him to delve into her and taste what was so forbidden. He tasted like ash and nicotine and all of the things she imagined. The smoothness of his tongue made her shudder as it intently curled against her own.

Her legs wobbled as he suddenly picked her up, slamming her into the wall. She wanted to cry out as her legs blindly wrapped around his waist. His entire body loomed over hers, pinning her in place. "Do you see what you do to me?" InuYasha gasped into her ear, barely capable of holding himself in place.

"InuYasha, I'm..." She panted, feeling his pelvis pressed so hard into hers that she could feel his erection thrum with his quickening heart beat.

His large hands roughly inspected his prey, groping the softer spots on her body as he dragged her to his bedroom. The door slammed against the wall, igniting a flame to everything that stood in his way. The books, the television the radio... everything went tumbling in an array of sweaty hands and swinging bodies.

Clothes were torn and scattered across the room as he shucked the girl on the bed, forgetting about the bars digging into her back as he climbed on top of her. Her hands dragged across his bare back, subversively counting the notches in his spine.

This was gradiuer. All grace was abandoned as if they had lost their faith in this exploration. Blood burst from the man's lip as he fought Kagome in a violent war for dominance. The iron flavor attempted to wash away the zest she had left behind, and he absolved by suckling on the nape of her neck to replace it with the sweaty nectar rolling off her skin.

Her breasts heaved at the softness of his skin, brushing the taut flesh against him in an attempt to meld with him. "Fuck, I love you." InuYasha groaned into her chest as he fought with their tangled legs to be inside of her. There was no thought as he pressed his length against her damp center. The satisfaction of her yelp made him take heed and slither inside of her, falling at the tighening sensation.

Kagome's mouth hung ajar. Her head lolled back as her hands waved aimlessly in his direction looking for _anything_ to latch onto. His hair rolled across her skin like a wave, squelching the heat premeating from her very blood. This was violence. This was what she had never experience. This was the love that she had yearned for...

All of those years of waiting in the whims, and _this _was the result. The pay off was lost within her cries and the sweet mutters of his name as her hands gripped to the bar behind her head, holding on as he crushed her with his turbulent thrusts.

InuYasha was equalized, as well. There was a veil that blinded his every sense other than what he felt with her. His forehead rested against her check as his fingers found their way to her mouth, feeling her lip pull them closer to her teeth.

The girl could no longer ignore the winding nerves migrating into her chest as she slowly unraveled. InuYasha was stifled, losing his breath as he slowed his pace to make the moment last as long as he could. He wanted to remember the way she moved beneath him, pulling him to his death as if she were a sinking vessel.

And in a few more rigid thrusts, numbness washed their veins clean of trepidation. A rain of tingling shot through Kagome as she went limp in a heap of damp hair and sticky skin. InuYasha licked his lips, curling across her stomach, searching for her hands.

The quiet spoke volumes. Yet, in the memoram of the occurance, neither moved from their positions. Cradling him, no matter how much she wanted to roll over and rest atop of him, Kagome brushed his hair with her fingers. Her eyes were distantly watching his ceiling fan dance in telltale witness of what transpired.

The man didn't want to breathe, let alone bring himself to look at her face. Where did they go from here? They declared their affections, proved it with their flesh. The obstacles didn't end with a mere confession and bold physical statement.

Yet, the man smiled in absolution. The cumbersome hands of sleep wanted both of them to venture deep within their realm, and dragged them away from the _what ifs _and _what have we dones_. There was an innocence that blanketed them as though they were no longer jaded. The morning is always there to remove the mystery.

But it didn't matter, InuYasha decided warmly as he finally pulled the girl into his arms. His mouth rested against the back of her neck as her hands clenched his against her chest. The nonstop world around them, and the wreckage, didn't matter as they finally found their way to the haunting halls that sleep draped across them.


	5. Toothpaste Kisses

AN: It's been a long time my dears! I've been in a busy funk and finally got the chance to sit down and write a little bit. If anyone wants to follow me on Instagram (I changed my name yet again.) look for _honeybeeblood_. I also watched the InuYasha parody _Episode Infinity _for the umpteenth time tonight. It's been around for a while, but if you haven't seen it, go find it on Youtube and get your lol's on.

I hope everyone has been well! Hope you guys enjoy this chapter here. :)

Maybe a couple more chapters of this piece and I'll be done with writing it. Thanks to everyone that's reviewed the drabbles and one shots! I appreciate the feedback, as always. I'm very appreciative that you have been so wonderful and so very supportive. I know I say that a lot, but I do mean it. It's awesome to be able to share my writing, my art, whatever piece of myself I share.

This chapter is for MissieMae.

Sarah: Thank you so much! That's so sweet!

ninjimidori: You like that dirty business, girl! Haha! I've missed you!

Andrea: Thank you! I hope that this chapter makes you happy! :)

Jinulover: Thank you. No, it's not over. I got hit with the bruality of writer's block!

k.a.a-inu: Girl, thank you for being so awesome. I've been struggling with this chapter forever. I thought I would have had it posted about a month ago, but it's finally here! ;A; And no worries! It's crazy around these parts all the time.

Warm-Amber92: Thank you honeybee! :3 I'm pretty sure the morning depiction is pretty accurate and the awkward is just perfect for Thanksgiving. Haha.

Say0mi Saki: Don't be nervous! I try to make everyone happy. I'm pretty awful to myself because I love tragedy, but I can't seem to really write that for InuYasha and Kagome. There's so much love between them that it would be horrible if they didn't end up together in some fashion. And thank you kindly. I appreciate hearing that. Sometimes authors get kind of hard on ourselves. I hope you like this chapter!

And MissieMae! HERE. IT'S FINALLY HERE! I really hope you like it. I feel so bad I couldn't force myself to post it sooner. I think I'm finally happy with it. Thanks for all the talks and support and just being such a great person.

A toothbrush hung haphazardly out of the corner of Kagome's bruised mouth. She stared vacantly into the blurry streaks in the mirror. There was a nervousness swelling in her stomach as her gray eyes poured into their reflection. The morning after was like the aftermath of a hurricane -tired, catatonic in comparision to the revelry that had been so present.

Licking her lips, she spat out the foam of left over toothpaste into the sick as quietly as she could. InuYasha was still hunkered down with his army of sheets standing guard. Perhaps it was cruel for her to be so blank, so empty. God, she closed her eyes, gripping to the sides of her damp head as she tried to cleanse the stupidity of her actions.

Why? There was no point in denying it at this point. Did that mean the thrill of the chase was gone? The fight for the very thing she coveted was in a cease fire and she was complaining about it. How typical of her, she glowered as her cheeks plumped with a fat flush.

Glancing at her near naked body, she saw the places his hands had touched and the small scuff mark-like bruises lining her hip and inner thighs. She had really let him do a number on her, she thought lazily as she ran an expectant finger from her collar to her breast.

Would he still find her as attractive after the fact? He had to have been out of his mind last night. There was no way that he actually had meant what he said. It was all a sting as violent as any entire beehive coming to bloody the honey on her hands. She'd stolen something from him. She'd stolen his choice.

It was almost unbearable to even think at that hour, let alone bask in her idiocy in the company of a squeaky faucet and damask towels. Taking a deep breath, the woman finished her routine, ignoring the harsh impulses shooting into her pelvis. She didn't have time for her body to serve as a time-machine - no matter how much she longed for the moment as soon as it passed.

She had more important things to do than sit around and mope. Even though that was a part of her daily routine, it wasn't going to be today. She would go see that bright eyed boy and enjoy some freedom from the confines of their hormonally unstable apartment. That's exactly what she would do.

Decidely, the woman dressed herself neatly and carefully before making that kid's day. She'd just about made it out the door when she heard stirring from InuYasha's room - _their room_ - the one they just...

Kagome pinched the bridge of her nose, centering herself as she cupped the keys in her hand. Sliding the door open with her foot, she nimbly excused herself from their home. So much for being an adult and facing your problems...

It wasn't long before a current washed over her skin, soothing the electrical impulses shooting through her toes as she sat in front of this foreign man. How she had slithered out of the apartment that _they _shared was beyond her as she appeased her promise for a cup of coffee with the dapper boy. Hojo was a nice enough man and all, but her heart thrummed for its partner.

Her eyes fixated on his pearly white teeth and way his voice wavered with uncertainty as he talked about his life and little perks about working in healthcare offices. He was a gem._ A very boring gem. _

Kagome felt InuYasha's fingers piercing her pores with a memory searing of the night before. If she had been any less aware of her surroundings, she would have doubled over with a shudder and a moan.

Instead, she smoothed her nervous, cold hands across the lacquered table and crumbled the corner of her napkin. She wanted this over with so she could crawl back in bed with _him_, if he didn't think it was awkward. There was no way of avoiding it. She'd rationalized her emotions as soon as she sat down in front of _this _kid.

Hell, the entire night she had tossed and turned and smothered beneath InuYasha's sweaty limbs and sea of sheets. This blinding world outside of the bedroom was surreal, and almost unbearable as her eyes pinned to the wall-clock behind Little Hojo's head of perfect hair. She smiled cordially, laughed quietly, aching to pull the buttons away from her collar for air.

Was love supposed to feel this strangulated? It was almost like drowning in some boggy mess with no hope of digging out of the mud. It was like crawling on glass out of a self-dug grave, or something, she decided as she guzzled down the last of her coffee. She had about a million subpar analogies she could have chosen from. They were all more interesting than her guest.

Gratefully, her phone sounded and flashed brightly. It as almost a godsend, even though she had no idea who it was. Nevertheless, the pinched feeling in her chest eased as she shot up, furrowing her brows as if she was on a mission. "I had a good time." She lied, batting her gray eyes at the boy as he flushed darker than the coat she held over her arm.

"I-I did too, Kagome." Hojo blanched, biting his lip as he pulled on his own thin jacket. "You have to leave so soon?" He asked hopefully, watching her small frame jostle as she looked towards the door with longing.

Brushing her hair from her eyes, she smiled and held herself. "I, um, have something to take care of. Thank you for the coffee and company." Kagome cooed, forcing herself to give the boy a hug as he beamed joyously.

"You're welcome. I'll call you." Hojo said brightly, finding his heart imploding with a ferocity as he watched her disappear behind the frost-ridden door to the diner. When the bell rang, the girl began to run through the smoggy streets, feeling the burn of fall cut across her cheeks, scorching her throat with a numbing cold.

InuYasha probably thought she was avoiding him, and part of her wanted nothing more than to hide in a dark recess until she evaporated. She had admitted far more than she had wanted, and exposed her body in a decadent dance to an unpresidented finish.

Her lips sealed away the secret from Sango - a feat that she dared to remained fearful of. That would be letting the entire family in on their personal business, and give them all satisfaction where it wasn't warranted, or wanted.

Yet, as Kagome bolted around the last hum of taxis crawling through the traffic, and bleached neons across the soggy pavement, she caught sight of her apartment building and dissolved. Her heart cried into her ears as she threw herself into the warmth that rested behind the glass doors.

The little woman sitting at the desk scowled at her as she ran to the elavator and removed her scarf and coat. She fair near removed the striped shirt underneath as she brushed a hand through her hair and sprayed on her perfume. She had never felt so nervous to go home. Her mind was wanton with a want that she couldn't fathom. Her body still ached for him to indulge in sharing what she had to offer, and likewise with him.

There was a spark in the air as the musty old cart dinged on her floor. So much could change... So much already had that it was almost a daring effort to set foot upon the old carpeted floor and walk to her door. She could see it, barely closed, just like she had left it.

Maybe he wasn't up? She mused as she inhaled deeply. Her heart was rapt, fingers numbed by the lingering cold and nervousness eating her up from the bone. Shaking off, she steadied herself as she opened the door slowly, cautiously as she peered at the lanky body hunched over the table.

Smoke barely stained the room with the once pungent odor, as it was covered by the scent of cinnamon and some candied meat. InuYasha never cooked for himself, and Kagome furrowed her brows as she caught him lolling his head back. His eyes rolled over her softly as he gestured at the table. He didn't seem to be any different than he was the day before, and she took heed as she put her coat on the rack.

"What are you doing?" Kagome asked gingerly, placing her keys into the dish.

InuYasha smirked at her and reached for a cigarette, brushing a hand over his stubbly face. "I didn't know if you were hungry or not, so I cooked something. I'm not sure how it is, because I fucked up a lot, and there was only enough for you." He said with a cough.

Kagome blushed like a child and looked down at her sock-covered feet. A smile stole her lips. "I appreciated, but I hope I don't die." She teased, as she had in all of the years they'd known one another. There was an awkwardness, unlike the one that was so heavy before. It was humbling as she skidded out her chair and took a seat across from him.

He was haphazardly dressed, barely covered by pajamas and a ragged t-shirt. His glasses hung on the tip of his nose, and his heart shaped scar beneath his lip was more obvious. She was aware of his scent, the way he smelled of patchoulli and his shampoo. It was something she'd noticed before, and never given much thought to.

InuYasha wasn't affected, and carried on about his business as usual. Her heart could barely contain itself as he watched her expectantly quiver as she picked up her fork and dove into the plate of sweet bacon and whatever pastry, ( perhaps a pancake?) that he had made.

Those differential eyes bore holes into her as she tried to inhale her food. The burnt bits went by in a blur as she choked them down, reaching for her cold cup of coffee. He had to have known what it had done to her, and how stupidly she reacted to him. Every nerve in her body was lit ablaze as InuYasha sucked in his lower lip as he stamped out his cigarette.

She wanted to look at him, look into that face and boldly make the next move. It was like a calculated game of chess, now. Whoever made that victorious move was surely to be declared the winner, if it could be assumed this way.

Why was she so frazzled now? Her eyes could have fallen out of her skull the longer she stared at her shitty decor and lightly stained table cloth. Her hands wound against the grit of her jeans, pulling against the grains as though they could spare her embarassment.

InuYasha was so smug, wasn't he? She glowered, watching him sit in silence. He shed a toothy grin at her as she pushed her plate aside. "Well, you're alive, so I guess you will be later. Eh, at least until we go to the festivities at your mother's..." He glowered.

Kagome closed her eyes, and let her law fall slack. "It wasn't that bad. At least it wasn't as bad as this morning." She sighed, letting her tired head fall into her hands.

"You saw that jackass, didn't you?" InuYasha rasped, pressing his jealousy back down his throat where it belonged. He could see the dismay all over her face and he slumped back in his seat with crossed arms.

The girl shook her head softly, "Yeah, I don't even remember a word he said. He was so boring. So, so nice... but God..." She clenched her teeth and hissed a little.

InuYasha smirked inwardly and pressed his hands over the table, leaning across until he was a few inches from her face. His long hair fell along his shoulders, sweeping across the table like silk. "You don't like nice guys?"

Kagome's cheeks tightened as they dampened with blood. Her eyes were bright and wide as the man's fell half-lidded. "I suppose not." She responded absently. Her heart thumped against her lungs, swallowing up her oxygen as she felt his mouth brush against hers. It wasn't as abrasive as the previous night, or as graceful as skilled lovers in-tune to one another.

It was warm, brash, gentle, an absolution of the very curious wave that crashed over them. The newness was magical in itself. As InuYasha pulled back, he let his gaze linger with hers until he flittered back to his seat quietly. She couldn't see the way his skin crawled and ached for her closeness. Sitting there with her and willingly being able to touch her was like being cleansed. Yet, as he withdrew, it seemed to be uncertain.

Was he supposed to be forward from now on? Was it supposed to be natural, and normal for him to act upon every impulse to touch her? Surely, it couldn't have been _that _hard to decide.

Kagome read the blantant confusion and opted to excuse herself from the situation. In her room, she waited until the satisfaction of her door locking rang through her ears. When it did, she slumped against the door holding her chest with a dumbstruck lust clinging to the stupidity on her features.

She wanted to change out of the drab clothes hanging on her body and become something that she wasn't. The prospect of going to her mother's den of inequity was the furthest thing from her mind. It was only possible to breeze through the room, ignoring phantom caresses and twitches as garments were collected and neatly readied for the endurance of the evening.

There was something prickling at the back of her mind, but she couldn't quite grasp what it was that she was feeling. All that surrounded her thoughts was the man cleaning himself up in his own room. The room where she was tangled in his limbs and swearing her affection like a snake spits its poison.

Love was a fickle thing to begin with, wasn't it? Whatever sense that it _had _made _before_ all of _this_ was nonexistant. Brushing out the kinks in her newly dampened hair, Kagome stared in her mirror. Part of her wanted the blotchy, flushed reflection to answer all of her questions in detail. Yet, it was unrealistic for her to believe a word that would come out of her own mouth. Koga was no longer even a blip on her radar, or acknowledged.

The answer to that burning question had been clearly written across her forehead. The answer was _"No.". _It had _always _been _no_. Hojo was never, and InuYasha... She knew that he had accepted her love, but where would they stand if they were _actually together_?

Closing her eyes, Kagome bit her lip as she tried to wipe away the disillusion. How had sleeping with him, confessing her love, and living with him made everything so... well, awkward. The previous kind of awkward was relative, tense and was obviously sexually charged.

This awkward was damning. It was innocent. Anything that was innocent becomes a beast. And that beast just so happened to be driving Kagome mad as she pulled on a small pin-tucked red dress. Her mother would surely call her a harlot, among other things.

She just about had the obnoxious zipper closed when _he _rapped his knuckles on the door. Normally, she would have screamed at him to go away, but she felt guilty. A frown hung like a frame along Kagome's pale face as she stared at the door. When he called her name, she sighed inwardly and left her brush unattended.

It was doubtful that InuYasha's patience had gotten any better overnight. "What is it, InuYasha?" Kagome asked, parting the door to see him dressed neatly in his fitted jeans and dark button up, sleeves rolled to his elbows as he flicked his lighter.

"Take off that dress." He said hoarsely, keeping his expression as stiff as the girl's spine.

Kagome ran her hands over the silken fabric and fretted beneath his scrutiny. Did he want to have her again? Could she handle it? What happened to her being jaded and assertive like every other adult? "Wh-hy?" The girl asked dumbly, glancing carelessly to the stuffed animals on her bed.

The man inhaled the bitterness of his cigarette and rolled his eyes as he leaned against her door frame. "Just take it off." He said softly, gesturing as he watched her nose crinkle. He was coming off too bold, wasn't he?

Kagome closed her eyes and hid behind her blanket of hair as she slid the dress down, letting the soft morning light swallow her skin with warmth. Her shoulders shuddered at the cold draught as the fabric slithered down her legs. There, she stood with her hands rubbing the crooks of her arms like a virgin school girl.

"You don't have to look like you're gonna hurl at any given second, you know?" InuYasha quipped, breezing into her room, admiring his handy work on her collar and neck. The rest of her body was flush as he walked to her closet and grabbed the dress he favored.

"Well, how am I supposed to fucking act? This is all so new. It's making my brain explode, InuYasha. How are we supposed to handle this?" She whined, forgetting her near nakedness and exposed herself to him as he laid the dress on the bed.

"Don't think about it." InuYasha retorted lightly, shrugging a lanky shoulder. "It's too late to go back now and this is what _you _wanted, remember?"

"Don't rub it in, or anything." Kagome scowled, looking down at her feet shuffling on the floor. "There are a bunch of things that I can't wrap my head around and one is just how I'm supposed to understand how to be with you."

"Well, think of this as something that was a long time coming, you know?" InuYasha shrugged his shoulders as he plopped down on the edge of her bed. He nudged his head for her to come over and she eventually complied. Lazily, he pulled her until she rested on his lap, legs pressed on either side of his own as he sank into the mattress.

For a while, he held her bare body close to his and inhaled the softest hints of her perfume. His nose pressed against the smooth curvature of her shoulder and he sighed warmly. "No use running from it. It shouldn't have to change. If it did, I don't know how we would manage." He said soundly, feeling her body tense as he leaned backwards.

Kagome's long hair feathered against his face and he pressed his calloused thumb against her cheek. He had wanted to do that simple gesture for years. Albeit, he _had_. Differential circumstance generally beseiged the romanticism in it, though. "I think I'm just scared of losing you if I actually have you."

"And? Kagome, you can't lose me. I'll be whatever you want me to be." InuYasha said sternly, raising up to pull her mouth closer to his. Her lips were warm, wet from their parted state as he absorbed her. Her breath blanched his face with heat as his long fingers wound into her hair. She couldn't be close enough.

She never would be.

Lolling his eyes closed, he drifted through the sea of flavors on her tongue until he was lost. He hadn't known how long had passed before she had moved away and left him cold as she got dressed in her pencil dress.

Nothing he could say would take off the sting of emotion running its course. It was something that she would have to grow accustomed to and the idea of losing her best friend on her own action was formiddable.

It wasn't long before she heard her phone beeping in distain. Both glanced at the device in horror as Kagome pulled a roller from her hair. There was no time to think. Ume was going to be one fiery beast if they were late. The sting of fresh wounds, and old ones, seemingly swam to the surface. They felt infected, itching to be peeled off like their scabs were ready.

A peck kiss in reassurance sealed both parties as they rushed through the apartment. The door slammed on their stampede down the hallway and to the rickety elevator. Sweat clung to Kagome's hairline as she patted on the last of her pressed powder. Her sister was going to be there. The girl's eyes fell on her boyfriend? Lover? InuYasha? Whatever the hell he was to her...

Even though it was said and done, the entire walk and partial train ride had been strange. His hand was clasped around hers, leading her to believe that he was using her as a foundation in which to soundly stand.

Upon the first sight of weeping maples that guarded the bottom of the tower of stairs, both held on to one another's fingers. Kagome took a resounding breath before clattering up the old flagstone steps, dragging InuYasha's forlorn body behind her. If there had ever been a time where resentment had gripped at her, it was now. She glanced over her shoulder at her lover and back to the sweeping roof-top covered with a flourish of golden leaves.

At the apex, the house stood the same. It was old, cracked at the foundation and musty. The interior had had renovations over the years to make it modern, and somewhat of a middle-aged woman's version of a bachelor pad.

Before they entered, InuYasha caught his breath, stretching his long legs. Instead of a cigarette, he shoved a mint in his mouth and peered at Kagome with one eye. "You ready for this?" He asked with a half-hearted grin.

Kagome clenched her teeth, wringing her hands together. "I'm not sure if I can do this. I really don't want to have to be the punching bag this year."

"It won't be _you_, per say." He shrugged, placing a soft kiss on her cheek as if he was unsure of what to do.

Kagome's hand instinctively traced the point of impact before hearing the door tear open with that familiar, grating creak.

"Well, you know that it's polite to let the host know that you're present and on time!" Her mother exclaimed, bundled up in a fuzzy black and white sweater wrapped around her thick frame.

Kagome pressed on a smile, embracing the woman as she shook her short hair. "Mama, it's good to see you." She breathed, inhaling far too much of her Estee Lauder perfume. "Your hair looks really nice."

"Oh, Kagome..." Ume sighed, crushing her arms around her daughter. As her hands ran down her back, she patted at her side and pushed her back to get a better look. "It seems you filled out a little bit." She teased, garnering a look of disapproval from the male party standing behind Kagome.

He could only imagine how many knives were in Ume's neck by the way Kagome looked at the steely woman. "Um, thanks Mama. I had a bad year."

"It's alright, a few trips on the treadmill should fix it. You have to wait until after today. You're sister made a roast and a pie." Ume smiled, giddily laughing as she moved to InuYasha. Kagome grimaced and gagged as she sluggishly made her way to the door.

InuYasha only faired a few pricks and prods from the woman's sharp tongue. Ume was a catty woman, that was for sure. His personal favorite was, "If you can't have one, there's always the other."

The moment she turned around, the man let curses seize his breath. He could hear the distinct sound of fake laughter and high pitched sighs as the women mingled; including one voice that he wasn't ready to hear.

Biting on his tongue, he brushed a hand through his hair and held his down. The walk into the house was almost like walking to the gallows. All the blood in his body rushed to his head, defeaning the actually clatter around him.

All eyes pinned to him, making his skin slither with unease. One pair of owl eyes, so keen on their prey, penetrated the very essence in his soul. _She _was standing there, holding a cup of tea in her fiery leafed kimono. She was stoic, poised, graceful looking as she rolled her eyes over him and grinned softly.

Kagome stood against her arms, as she stood a few inches shorter than Kikyo. "Well, InuYasha, it seems that you look like a man now." Her dark eyes flittered with sadness for a moment, before she recovered handing her sibling her drink. "I hope that you two have been well, but I'm going to go and talk to the natives."

Kagome furrowed her brows, "Well, at least that was a dodged bullet." She muttered, finding her _whatever he was_ slipping into the kitchen from the living room.

Miroku and Sango were sitting amongst a plethora of ornate decor, spilling off the table with faux vines and coasters. Sango looked utterly distraught, downing a few shots of whiskey from her boyfriend's flask. "I'm so glad you actually came." She heaved.

"You should be thankful that you missed Sota and his girlfriend being asked to leave." Miroku interjected, his cherubic cheeks raising to his eyes. InuYasha and Sango had both noted the distinct hint of _Higurashi_ between all of the siblings and snickered to one another, sneaking shots and stealing beer from the fridge. Oh! How the years had matured them...

Kagome and Miroku stared at one another, lips quirked knowingly at the fact that they had sealed deals that were supposed to be left unsigned. The boy didn't dare say a word. He was saving it for the awkward silence at dinner. He was a humble man, wasn't he? He mused lightly as his dark eyes darted between his sister and InuYasha.

They sat side by side, whispering to one another as though no one could hear them. "You do realize if you're talking about mother, she _will _hear you."

"She hears everything."

"Kagome-chan, you really need to watch it. It's like a bat flying out a cave around here. I don't know how you did it. I don't know how Miroku still does. He's here enough." Sango snorted, nearly wiping her perfectly placed hair out of its bun.

InuYasha tried to sip his drink, _secretly _running his hand along Kagome's upper thigh beneath the lacquered table. The look on her face was evident that she noticed his fingers tracing circles around places that he had yet to _touch_.

"I think everyone needs to watch it. There's a lot of bad juju floating around this place. I can feel it." She shuddered, hoping to cover up the fervor of feeling jolting through her stems.

"Oh, darling sister." Miroku sighed, pushing his glasses atop his crown, "You probably should know that mother invited a certain someone that I shall not name." His hands gripped to his horribly designed sweater as Kagome's jaw fell slack.

InuYasha gritted his teeth and let out a groan. "My god. There will be blood everywhere." Aggitation was the subtle way to express his feelings on the subject. It was bad enough that he had to deal with Kikyo's curious advances and stares.

"I can't believe this." Kagome thunked her head on the table, absently reaching for the bottle of sake sitting in the midst. At least Jii-chan was busy showing off the shrine to her mother's friends. "I didn't want to be here for a reason." She whined, helping Sango pour a few cups of the bitter liquid. "This place is hell."

"Kagome, you know that it's not fair to call this place hell." Her brother interjected, finding solace in a mochi sitting in a bowl. "You're the one that made Mama resent everyone. You have a mouth on you. At least everyone else is respectful."

The girl snorted, slapping Sango on the arm. "I can't believe that you sleep with him." She slurred slightly, finding her friend's cheek brazen with a bloody hue.

"_Kagome!"_ She squealed quietly.

InuYasha rolled his eyes and slumped back in his chair. His fingers rolled over the pack of cigarettes in his pockets, about to let his mouth pop off something smart, when _it _happened.

"So, what's it like sleeping with Kagome?" Kikyo remarked humorously, slinking to the fridge for something to drink. She seemed unphased as she hopped upon the counter, smirking as she chewed on her gum.

Four bewildered sets of eyes fell on her, then back to the two sitting side by side. Kagome's fist balled the fabric of her skirt. She would deny like she always had when they said these things, right? Miroku stifled his amusement by biting at his knuckles.

The Higurashi's were all evil. Every last one of them, InuYasha decided. "Can this day be any more awkward?" He asked.

"I don't know why everyone assumes that you've slept with each other." Sango said, saving the strange air in the room from becoming thick.

"I know," Kagome breathed, narrowing her eyes at her sister. If she happened to be any closer she would have kicked her shins, or pulled her hair like she did when they were children. Her head felt like it was about to explode, but the pressure had overwhelmingly absorbed the pain as the alcohol took hold.

InuYasha nudged her foot with his own and caught the fearful expression on her face. This was already a mess. Having to face the entirity of her family and that _thing_ meant that this was probably killing her. Sucking in a breath, he glanced towards Miroku. He tilted his head slightly, nudging towards the outside. It had seemed obvious that the answer was to remove themselves, but InuYasha was fairly dense.

Kikyo had lost interest by that point and cleared her throat, "Kagome, do you want to go shopping next weekend?" She asked smoothily. "I'm leaving soon and I wanted to spend some time with you."

"That sounds like so much fun!" Miroku teased. "Can I come?"

"No." They both said dryly.

Sango frowned at him, "You can come shopping with me, baby." She mocked.

InuYasha readied himself to get up and escape when Ume came barreling into the kitchen. She barely paid attention to anyone in the room as she chatted on her old house phone. Laughing, the middle aged woman nibbled on food and waved at her guests. "You may want to be careful," She said very clearly with a big fat smile smeared across her face. "There's a hormonal imbalance flooding my kitchen."

"Tell us how you really feel." Kagome snickered, locking eyes with the man beside her. She was lucid in her fluid state.

Ume pardoned herself from the conversation and held the device to her bosom. "Kagome, I would like for this visit to exclude the attitude." She rolled her eyes in a flutter, like most displeased mothers.

Kagome merely rubbed at the corners of her eyes, trying desperately not to remove her carefully detailed make-up. "Whatever you say, Mama. It's going to be hard to sit here and stare at Koga's face all night and have him follow me home."

InuYasha's teeth itched at the sound of his name. Miroku poured himself a cup of coffee from the press and exhaled. "I do think it's unfair that he was invited, Mother." He relieved, feeling Kikyo's hand land on his shoulder in a sympathetic gesture.

"It seems that we've all be inducted into the festivities, so I'm going to go outside and throw myself down the stares or something." The girl mumbled, waving as she slipped out of the room. Her eyes lingered over InuYasha and her sister for a moment, making her chest tighten with a twinge of jealousy.

It was gone as soon as it appeared and left her shot by the time she opened the front door. Koga was standing there, pacing in his normal way. He held onto a fist full of crysanthemums and baby's breath - Kagome's favorite. They were the only flowers she had ever liked.

Kikyo grimaced, brushing a nervous hand through her glossy hair. "Erm, afternoon, Koga-kun." She pressed, trying to keep her teeth from hissing. He looked so much older than she remembered.

"Can I come in?" The scruffy faced man asked, making that obnoxious popping noise of teeth sliding off of his lip.

Kikyo sucked in a breath and held it unattractively. "Um, well..." She exhaled, poking her cheek with her index finger. "You _can, _but _no_." She smiled brightly, slamming the door in the man's face. Her only exit was blocked by an idiot, she sighed.

Their mother certainly had a way with floor entertainment. Everyone probably thought she was a well on her way to being a shrew, but what difference did it make? She didn't know these people in the least. Her sister seemed to be covering her mouth, holding in her hiccups.

And, to her dismay the hoarse grumbles of the rejected man outside were painfully audible. Kikyo rolled her eyes and leaned close enough to the door where Koga could hear her. Lacing her arms over her chest, she said dryly, "Huff and puff, little man. I ain't letting you in."


	6. Combo Breaker

**This chapter is accompanied by, **_**Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zero's "Home".**_

_AN: THANK YOU ALL FOR THE FANTASTIC REVIEWS! You all know how to make the aftermath of holidays feel nice and cozy. _

_RiceBallMaker94: Well, I added a little something in here for you. I think that it worked out pretty well. InuYasha and Kagome always make my heart burst, so hopefully you'll be happy with this chapter, too! :3 _

_MissieMae: Yes ma'am! And no worries. It's amazing I had time to do anything over the holidays this year. I had that overcrowded awkward Thanksgiving experience at my in-laws (still not comfortable after all this time). And thank you a zillion times. I'm glad you liked it. This is the beginning of the party aftermath, so there's some goodies in here. Haha._

_Andrea: Thank you for the review! Haha, I love Koga. I haven't used him too much in this piece, but I think he's going to show up a little more in some unexpected places. Kukuku._

_LovesDepp: Thanks. I went back and read through the chapter and it cracked me up. I have no idea where it came from, honestly. Lol. _

_ninjamidori: Any kind of family gathering or party is more interesting and awkward than it should be. Haha. I know right? Don't die! I love you. _

_CityOfFallenAshes: Thanks hon! I think it's one of my favorite lines in this story. XD_

_Say0mi-Saki: You're always such a sweetheart. Thank you. Kagome's mom is written in the image of one of my friend's mothers growing up. I always felt bad when I came to her holiday functions as relief, and left shortly after. x.x I hope Kikyo grows on you in this chapter. She's a bad girl, though. ;D_

_Warm-Amber92: Kagome's family is a combination of mine and my husband's family, for the most part. A little sprinkle of my friend's passive aggressive mom and viola! Thank you. I was worried it wasn't going to translate well. I hope you like this one! _

_ONWARD._

_` Jiru `_

Huffing and puffing seemed to get Koga inside the house, leaving Kikyo to be scolded by her mother. It was an injurious interlude to an already awkward evening. To her dismay, she dug a hole in her mother's purse for the cigarette she kept hidden - it was probably stale as two week old bread. Yet, the stoic woman couldn't bare to deal with her sister's reaction and fled into the cold.

Leaning against the side of the house, she lolled her head against the weathered siding offsetting it with the darkness of her hair. She was humbled by the sweetness in the air and chill that nipped at her nose. There was something about gatherings that she disliked. It may have been the attention, the competition for privacy, or being forced into a situation, she, herself, wasn't quite comfortable with.

Still, as she inhaled that first stagnant plume of menthol, she shuddered. There were few things to make her pick up a cigarette, and her mother happened to be the number one cause. With a sigh, she brushed her hands over the silk of her kimono as she found InuYasha fleeing, as well. He packed his cigarettes in oblivion, eyes closed to the dimming evening and burned brightly beneath the flood-light.

Kikyo's heart tugged for him and she frowned blantantly as their eyes met. He seemed stiff, confused, almost upset. Straightening herself, Kikyo extended the lighter in her hands. "Needed a break?" She asked, barely brushing fingers with the man. There was no electrical current pulsing through her when they touched, or anything exburant for that matter, just skin on skin.

It took InuYasha moment as he hunkered in his coat, lighting his cigarette, to notice Kikyo was also damaging her lungs. "Do you even smoke?" He asked with a quirked brow.

Kikyo's eyes lit up and a smile tugged at her lips, "No. Mama does this to me, and that _thing _she made me apologize to." She trailed, biting her lip - a famed Higurashi habit - and looked at him hesitantly, "No hard feelings, right?"

InuYasha choked, wiping a hand down his face as he stared at her incredulously. "What the hell? Are you being serious right now?"

"How many years ago was it, InuYasha? You tell me that." Kikyo said, pointing her cigarette at him calmly. She obviously didn't understand how bitter he had been, it seemed.

"Several, I don't know." He shrugged in response.

"Why waste the energy when you have someone in there that loves you and the ground you walk on? You can't have hang-ups and love her, too." Kikyo exhaled a ghostly plume of smoke into the night air and flicked her cigarette away.

"I really don't need you to give me your insight on this. It's going to take some time, Kikyo."

"How much more time do you need? You've loved her for as long as I can remember. I couldn't help falling out of love with you. It just happened that way. I'm the past, and you need to let that go. Kagome's the future. Moving on, you know? Well, to put it bluntly, I love her, and I want her to have happiness and it's unfair to her to be put this situation."

Wordlessly, InuYasha clenched his jaw, flicking his cigarette across the flagstones. A heavy, damp hand slid through his gossamer hair as the wind kicked up. Kikyo shed an apologetic smile and reached across the distance between them. Her small fingers clenched his shoulder in reassurance.

Taking a deep breath, she placed the lightest of pecks along his cheek. "You turned out to be a pretty decent person, you know that? Thank you for watching over her and making sure she was happy." She said in a hum, patting his back as she slinked back into the house.

Looking over his shoulder, he watched her hide behind the heavy door as it closed. That hadn't been what he expected, but it resolved he deadend feelings that weren't quite at rest. He couldn't begrudge her forever for her feelings, and let the breeze cool his feverish skin. Ever since Koga had arrived, it had been sheer madness.

Kagome had hidden upstairs in her old room, huffing and puffing like an oversized drunk child. He'd barely even been able to make out anything she had said. She'd been crying, sniveling and screaming into pillows among other things. Licking his chapped lips, InuYasha found it in himself to go back into the dizzing, vertigo-inducing, ladder of insolence.

It almost made his palms itch trying to wrap his hand around the knob. It was like a sweaty, glistening circle of evil just waiting for him to bite. How he abhorred family gatherings; birthdays, holidays and the like.

When he parted it, he found all of the party members stilled by the creak. Every glassy, beady eye struck him like he was being stoned. They all gathered around the tables, drinking their wine and shots, as he was welcomed by a putrid warmth that made his stomach knot. Could today have been any worse?

First and foremost, Koga raised his glass to him with a rugged grin. "Nice to see you came back for dinner." He said briskly, finding humor in his own sarcasm. Ume rolled her eyes and patted the man's back like a child, whispering some nonsense in his ear.

Kikyo looked about dead as she stabbed a grapefruit over the sink. She really didn't like being there that much was an understatement. Sango and Miroku were drunkenly telling stories about their jobs, every now and then looking towards the man with sympathy.

The other middle-age patrons seemed to be less than impressed with his presence; seeing as he had taken a swing at Koga the moment he walked in the door. Kagome hadn't wanted any part of it, and it seemed like this whole fiasco was about to go berserk if he didn't stop the pressure building in his head.

It was like the room was buzzing every one of thier voices and the lights seared white holes into his eyes. Was he having a panic attack? He pulled at the collar of his shirt as he looked around. He was about to lose it when Ume snapped her fingers, drawing his attention away from the one dusty spot in the house - which was near the foyer. "Excuse me, InuYasha, could you go and see if Kagome is ever going to stop being a baby about this and come down?"

Blinking, he shook his head, "Um, yeah... I'll be right back." He muttered, finding relief washing all over him. In a moment, he had cleared the handful of steps separating him from the salvation of the split-level house. He could barely contain the shivering on his skin as he leaned against the cold-oak door and rested his temple along side it. His hand gripped the handle in the darkness of the musty hallway and he breathed.

Quitely, he rapped his knuckles along the side of the door until he heard Kagome's hoarse voice trickle from the other side. She sounded tired, exhausted emotionally... Outwardly frowning, he cleared his throat, "It's me, let me in. I'll climb through the window if you don't, so just make it easy on me."

Kagome raised up from her perch on the bed and shucked her television remote across the room. She wasn't in the mood to see him, either. Everyone made such a terribly huge ordeal over these things and it was never worth it to be subjected to the subset of their ideals.

With a sigh, the girl brushed a hand through her pillow-raped hair and parted the door. The smell of his cologne hit her first and she recoiled internally. Her eyes fell closed as she wrapped her fingers around in his coat as she pulled him into the room.

InuYasha man stiffened, feeling her mouth voraciously search for his. It hadn't been what was expecting, but obviously any other thought had gone out the window. Frantically, Kagome's hands dragged along his chest, fighting with the buttons of his shirt.

It was comletely blind. She needed this. She needed _him_. Each searching finger scraped against his smooth folds of his skin as she violently jerked at the fabric. InuYasha was equally as struck, bewitched by the grit of her teeth nipping at his collar. His own palms found the hem of her skirt, fumbling so carelessly with her undergarments. It didn't matter if they were on or off, pushed down or torn...

"Take them off." Kagome breathed into him, pressing her body against him. She could feel him through the coarse denim and shuddered as her flush became more prevailent. He nodded in response, fumbling with the nosy buckle of his belt. He hadn't had time to think before she danced her way to the wall. He pressed against her, feeling her breasts heave into his own chest.

There wasn't much to think of, as he scrambled to lift her up. Pressing his forehead against hers, InuYasha found her bottom as she jumped at the contact. Her long legs wrapped around his waist as he pushed into her folds. She lolled her head back, jostling with the motion of his body in hers. She wanted to cry out, and would have if his heavy hand had not provided its assistance.

Her teeth bit down as his warm mouth climbed the tower of her throat. She could feel the coolness of his hair soothing the aching heat that permeated through her pores. He was visceral, almost too aggressive. It was her fault. She had done this and needed to feel the distance between closed. Closing her eyes, she merely felt his body churn with each thrust into her, absolving that want with another.

Why was this craving so strong? She had yearned for him all day and to have this unjust environment to share it in was almost upsetting. She couldn't cry like she wanted, call out his name... There were few things that she wanted more.

Winding her fingers into his hair, she clenched her teeth and hissed at the feeling of his hips puncturing her. He mouthed her name almost soundlessly, easing the silence into a breathless serenade. Kagome frantically flailed her legs and tighened around his slender waist. Leaning into the strength of his chest, she clenched around him as he foolishly warmed the inside of her body.

Each shaking limb too them to the ground, and each breathe rattled their empty lungs. Kagome wrapped her arms around him, holding his head against her chest. Silently, he moved the askew sleeve back into place and drew circles on the bridge of her spine.

The room was placid, dark with the blanket of nightfall outside. They were all talking loudly and jovially downstairs, and he could feel the unrest in his bones. Kagome nuzzled him, fighting another wave of tears. These days were so emotionally draining. For whatever reason she had, she bristled and cleaned herself off with his forgotten boxers and just rested.

There were millions of things that could have been said, or done different, but the man merely soothed her the best he could. He cradled her and placed a few soft markings along her ear, her collar, shoulder... whatever wasn't strenuous to touch.

Reaching over to her bed, he pulled off the disheveled blanket and haphazardly laced in around her small frame. Her room still held a draught, which he wasn't surprised was never fixed. "Are you alright?" He rumbled quietly, cautiously.

Kagome's body moved against his absently. The back of her hand was covered by black smears of make-up that was labeled as "waterproof". "I guess. I really just want to go home and make some dinner and do something else." She sighed, trying her best not to snivel.

InuYasha glanced over his shoulder to the window and fumbled for his coat. The girl whined in the absence of his warmth and watched sourly as the man dressed. For something so new to her, she could still feel the sting of remorse him being in clothing, right?

Nimbly, his moved the window open and felt the wind zip in. He leaned out, looking down at the distance and found the old workbench was moved close to the house. Kagome followed, knitting her brows together as she stared at the glum looking ground. "You can't really seriously be thinking about this."

"Well, you want to go home don't you?" He smirked crookedly, slinging a leg over the lip of the sill.

"Yes, but I don't want you to die trying to get me there." Kagome retorted, flailing an arm as she straightened out her wrinkled and balled up dress.

"I won't die. Jesus, Kagome..." InuYasha grumbled, rolling his eyes as he carefully slid outside.

Nervously, he let his legs slide down the side of the house as he held onto the sill. His fingers were pinched by warped metal and he let go, hitting the work bench awkwardly. He hissed to himself at the sharp pain shooting in his ankles, but held his arms out for Kagome to follow.

With a wave of his hand, he motioned for her and she hestiated. Kagome took a few short glances over her shoulder before finally caving. Hanging her legs over the edge, she held her breath as she let go, finding falling to be a little more then nauseating. She'd pinched her eyes shut until she felt InuYasha's bony fingers jam into her arm pits.

It took all she had not to yelp and bit down on her lip instead. Their clattering was sure to make someone miss them, she seethed as she rubbed her sore underarms. It had only been a handful of feet, but it still hurt like hell.

Her poor feet were freezing and each bone in her toes felt like a cinderblock had been dropped on them with an equally brunt force. InuYasha winced at the girl and pulled his hair tye off with his teeth as he fixed his frazzled hair. "Is it sad that we just jumped out of a window to get out of there?" InuYasha asked almost playfully.

Had Kagome not been so disparraged by the cold, she probably would have been more excited. "At least one of us didn't have to pretend we had food poisoning. Onset would have been unorthodoxed, at best."

Rolling his eyes, he removed his coat and extending it to the girl. She looked surprised, but daintly took it and wrapped it around her small frame. Standing beneath the humming flood light, they looked around at the grounds, deciding to just go for it. Why the hell not?

It took some dance-like manuevering to make it over the needled flagstone - complimentary pinecones, pebbles, and fall trappings included.

InuYasha held her hand through most of the journey down the stairway, somewhat content at their escape route. Kagome kept scrunching up her nose, grimacing at the daunting, knee-grating prospect of those stairs. The street was only a few steps away and she couldn't wait to feel the smooth pavement of the sidewalk.

The wind kicked up, blanching them with the thinnest of cool breaths and she shuddered. "I'm fucking cold. I'm fucking hungry and still a little drunk." Kagome sniffed, trying to remotely be presentable.

InuYasha quirked a brow, seemlessly picking her up and swung her down to him on the pavement. The house seemed far less daunting, seemingly innocent from the street. A few cars breezed by and left them washed with the damp spray on the roadway.

"Can we go home, now?" Kagome figeted, holding her hair against her shoulders. InuYasha's differential eyes fell on her hopelessly and he grinned at the tiny fingers poking out of his jacket sleeve.

"Well, hop on. I don't want you walking home." InuYasha yawned, kneeling down for the girl to climb on. She stood in terror at the suggestion, but aquiested upon seeing the no-nonsense expression he gave her.

Adjusting to the warmth of his back, Kagome's arms laced around his neck as her legs lazily draped around him. She hadn't thought about the way they hung abou him earlier, and just indulged in the quiet cries of the city in the distance. She was tired, sore-eyed and so very humbled.

He smelled cozy to her and she played the loose hair near his temples, pushing it back behind his ears. She'd finally taken liberity in closing her eyes, breathing in the jarring cold air into her nose when he leaned his head back into her. "I love you, you know that?" InuYasha rasped softly, eyes still focused on whatever boring part of the city decided to light up.

Kagome felt her cheeks darkened, furiously escalating her heart into a palpitation; couldn't she have just gone home _without _hearing that? Adjusting was going to be difficult. The bones in her body were stiff. Was she supposed to respond? He already knew how she felt.

Before she had time to answer, the fastidious clatter of geta scraping against the pavement made her turn her head, and her vessal stop completely. A little ways behind them, Kikyo came barreling through the dim, murky light from the street lamps. Her kimono swished and her hair flew around her. She waved a hand in front of her neck, shaking her head as she hurdled towards her sister and ex-lover.

Kagome furrowed her brows when Kikyo's cold hand grabbed at her arm, as her body was still fully expunged of air. Leaning over, the woman caught her breath and swallowed a few times. InuYasha rolled his eyes, "Are you going to die?"

"No. No. I don't think so if I stay out of the house. I _accidentally_, um, how should I put this..." Kikyo raised up, cupping her mouth studiously as Kagome plucked a few leaves from the darkness of her hair. "I _accidentally_..." She paused, making that particular face where one tries to really decide if saying something aloud is the best option. "

"You accidentally _what_?" Her sister asked, still attached to InuYasha like a leech.

Kikyo rolled her eyes and motioned for them to walk. Leaning closer to her sister, she cupped her ear. Kagome immediately made a disgusted face and stifled a laugh. "_Ew! You slept with Koga?_"

"Kagome! Seriously! Eh!" Kikyo flailed, "Tradesies is _wrong_. I feel so gross. You can have _him_." She pointed to InuYasha, garnering more than a few amused expressions. "Havesies is fine. Just, can I spend the night with you so I don't have to go back in there? I really don't, um, want to look at anyone's face right now."

InuYasha shrugged his shoulder. "I don't know..." He sucked in a sigh through his teeth as the woman's expression flat-lined.

"I'll buy dinner."

"Done." The man said, feeling Kagome's fingers pinch the back of his neck.

"You don't have to barter for her to stay." She popped.

"Yeah, well, I'm not sleeping with her, so I gotta get something out of it." InuYasha remarked nonchalantly, leaving the sisters dumbstruck by his so eloquent prowess. Kikyo pressed her fingers into her temples, and followed behind, arms laced over her chest.

There were a lot of things wrong with the evening, but this would be better than any of the goings on at her mother's. And, in a way, it made her content to see her sibling smiling, laughing anything that made her forget all of her misery. InuYasha had always been Kagome's answer.


End file.
